One Brooklyn
BROOKLYN, NY, November 21, 2017: Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams unveiled more than $8.7 million in Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) capital budget investment for a dozen new and existing affordable housing developments across Brooklyn. The FY18 funding will enable construction of more than 1,100 new affordable units, including senior and supportive housing, as well as help preserve more than 3,100 units in existing Mitchell-Lama and New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments through renovations and repairs. Borough President Adams made the announcement at the future site of the Bishop Philius and Helen Nicolas Senior Residence, which received $1 million for a new 90-unit affordable housing development in East Flatbush for low-income elderly Brooklynites. The BEL Community Housing LLC-led project, a partnership between Lemle & Wolff Development Company, Brisa Evergreen LLC, and the Evangelical Crusade Christian Church, is part of his groundbreaking Faith-Based Development Initiative, which pursues partnerships with Brooklyn’s houses of worship to deliver affordable and supportive housing on available parcels of land across the borough. Borough President Adams emphasized the need to think outside the box for innovative solutions to the affordable housing crisis by partnering with community entities such as faith-based organizations and non-profits.
“We need to protect our vulnerable populations fighting to stay in their homes, like the elderly, the poor, veterans, and the disabled,” said Borough President Adams. “We are not growing any more land in Brooklyn, so we must be innovative in identifying opportunities for affordable housing. I am proud to work with a diverse array of non-profit organizations, faith-based institutions, and private sector partners that share my vision for creating safe communities where everyone has an opportunity to raise healthy children and families. This FY18 investment will ensure thousands of Brooklynites can continue to call our borough home, and nothing can be better than that.”
“Rodney Leon Architects are honored to be a part of Borough President Adams’ Faith-Based Development Initiative,” said Rodney Leon, design architect at the Bishop Philius and Helen Nicolas Senior Residence. “This project was conceived and shall serve as an equitable, socially responsible, and economically sustainable development model for faith-based and community development organizations throughout the city. The Bishop Philius and Helen Nicolas Senior Residence development illustrates that successful affordable housing and economic development partnerships can be initiated by faith-based institutions for the long term benefit and stability of the community.”
Borough President Adams’ FY18 funding for new affordable housing developments included $1 million to Brownsville Linden Plaza LLC for 531 units at Ebenezer Plaza in Brownsville, $1 million to New York City Partnership HDFC for 196 units at Linden Terrace in East New York, $1 million to Southside United HDFC for 84 units for seniors at Rheingold Affordable Senior Residences in Bushwick, $1 million to Riseboro Community Partnership for 64 units of senior housing at Bethany Senior Homes in East Flatbush, $1 million to Habitat for Humanity NYC for 12 units at Habitat Passive in East New York, and $800,000 to NYC Partnership Housing Development Financial Corporation (HDFC) for 180 units at Dunn Commons in Brownsville.
“Borough President Adams is a friend of the affordable housing community and a tireless advocate on behalf of lower-income New Yorkers,” said Karen Haycox, CEO at Habitat for Humanity NYC. “We are so grateful for his longstanding support of Habitat NYC’s work and his most recent allocation of $1 million to our ‘Passive’ project, which will create 12 new affordable homeownership opportunities for hardworking families in East New York.”
“We thank Borough President Adams and Deputy Borough President [Diana] Reyna for their allocations to Southside United HDFC-Los Sures,” said Juan Ramos, executive director of Southside United HDFC-Los Sures. We have an opportunity now with the investment that they have made in creating and building affordable housing for one of our most vulnerable populations, our seniors. This gives us also an opportunity as a non-profit developer to be able to remain relevant in our community where private developers are coming in and non-profit developers are being pushed out, and pushed around, to have an opportunity to build their community in a way that they see it and in a way that it should be built. The investment that Borough President Adams has made in our organization provides us that opportunity and gives us the opportunity to continue our legacy of building affordable housing for seniors that is not only sustainable but also a place where they can receive services.”
“I salute Borough President Adams’ ongoing commitment to affordable housing, as demonstrated by the significant funds he has made available for various projects across the borough,” said Scott Short, CEO of RiseBoro Community Partnership. “Borough President Adams recognizes that Brooklyn succeeds only when it provides essential resources for its low-income and working-class residents. This is a belief that we at RiseBoro share and promote every day, as we unleash the potential of communities to thrive, no matter the odds.”
Borough President Adams’ FY18 funding also included renovations and repairs for existing Mitchell-Lama housing stock, including $325,000 for repairing exterior facades and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) bathroom upgrades at the 238-unit Crown Gardens in Crown Heights; $750,000 for renovating ADA bathrooms, ceilings, stairwells, and walkways at the 304-unit Atlantic Terminal II in Fort Greene; and $131,000 for replacing rises and valves at the 894-unit Kings Bay Houses in Sheepshead Bay. He also invested in the preservation of NYCHA’s Brevoort Houses, comprising 896 units in Bedford-Stuyvesant, through an allocated $500,000 for repairs and security cameras, and Howard Houses, comprising 815 units in Brownsville, through $200,000 for security cameras.
“On behalf of the residents of Howard Houses and the tenants’ council, we would like to thank Borough President Adams for the contributions he has made to help us in our endeavor and for all that he does for the community,” said Naomi Johnson, president of the Howard Houses Tenant Council.
Borough President Adams presented funding recipients with honorary checks for their allocations, as well as a large oversized check in the total amount of $8.7 million made out to “One Brooklyn” for affordable housing.
“Borough President Adams’ budget has been a clear indicator that his priorities are in line with what Brooklynites most need,” said Council Member Jumaane D. Williams. “In particular, this focus on affordable housing is an urgently necessary investment toward addressing the affordable housing and homelessness crisis. In order to have a meaningful impact on this imminent problem, we need to be able to use every tool in the toolbox, and I’m glad that Borough President Adams is helping provide the resources that we need to continue this important work.”
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