TROY – A fraternity at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is supporting 11 programs this year as part of its commitment to invest the community around its Congress Street chapter house in the Mt. Ida neighborhood.

The Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity has allocated $11,000 in grants creating an arboretum in the Old Mt. Ida cemetery, restoring gravesites in the cemetery; a performing arts project in Prospect Park, equipment for the Mt. Ida food pantry, support for the Troy Boys and Girls Club bicycle program and exterior painting, interior repair and façade improvements to buildings.

“This makes us feel that we’re doing a great thing. We hope others will join us in the process,” Paul Marano, chapter advisor and the Phi Sigma Kappa Alumni Association president, said Friday.

The nine-member PSK Grant committee had intended to award 10 grants, but after receiving 16 applications opted to provide support for 11 projects. The fraternity began the program with $50,000 as a way of supporting the neighborhood after it moved into its current location from its. The grants were presented Wednesday with fraternity, RPI and city officials present.

Phi Sigma Kappa purchased the former St. Francis DeSales Roman Catholic Church and rectory at 320 Congress St. and moved in 2014 after the city approved the changes to the buildings. The fraternity chapter at RPI has 21 student members and more than 700 alumni. The buildings are owned and managed by the Phi Sigma Kappa Alumni Association of Troy, which is responsible for providing safe, affordable, quality housing to its student members.

“The overwhelming response we got from the Mt Ida community is an indication that the residents of Mt Ida are vested in improving their neighborhood. We are confident the projects being funded will be noticeable and have a positive impact on the neighborhood,” Marano said.

The fraternity’s grant program will now have funded 47 projects since it began five years ago. The $50,000 used to begin the grant fund came from the sale of the former fraternity house. Due to investment income, the pool of money available for grants this year was between $40,000 and $50,000. After this year’s grants are paid, the PSK grants will have totaled $47,000.

The grants are made available to residents, businesses and organizations in the neighborhood area that is south from College Avenue west of 15th Street and south of Tibbits Avenue between 15th Street and Bleeker Avenue. On the west, it is bordered by the western end of 11th Street. The area for the grants also includes Prospect Park, Mount Ida Cemetery and the corner of Congress Street and Pawling Avenue.



