The city is moving forward with a trio of affordable housing developments in Brooklyn and the Bronx despite deep cuts to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development budget.
The projects—at 1921 Atlantic Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, 461 Alabama Ave. in East New York and 1007 Union Ave. in Morrisania—contain 400 units of affordable housing, according to HPD and the city’s Housing Development Corp. The agencies partnered to arrange financing for the projects without tapping into the city’s capital budget, using strategies that focused on the substitution of HDC subsidies and the reallocation of federal low-income housing tax credits.
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1921 Atlantic Ave., Victory Commons 461 Alabama Ave. “A new reality requires a fresh approach—which is why we’re deploying new financing methods that will deliver stability for countless families in an extremely uncertain time,” HPD Commissioner Louise Carroll said.
Minority- and woman-owned business enterprise developers are spearheading all three projects, the city said.
A joint venture between Thorobird and Dabar Development is building the Atlantic Avenue project, which will contain 236 residential units for low-income and formerly homeless New Yorkers, the city said. The development also will feature a grocery store and a community facility meant to promote entrepreneurship, housing assistance, health care and the arts, it said.
A partnership between CB Emmanuel Realty and the nonprofit Services for the Underserved is constructing the 71-unit supportive housing development on Alabama Avenue. The project will be for low-income and formerly homeless New Yorkers, and it will include a rooftop and recreation room for residents, the city said.
Victory Baptist Church and Exact Capital are partnering on the Morrisania project, known as Victory Commons. The affordable-housing development will contain 95 residential units and include a church sanctuary and offices, the city said.
HPD is facing severe budget cuts because the city lost $9 billion in revenue during the coronavirus lockdown. The nonprofit New York State Association for Affordable Housing calculated the cut at 40% and predicted it would cause the city to lose 21,000 units of affordable housing, including 3,000 supportive-housing units, in the next two years.
But HPD maintains the city is on track to meet Mayor Bill de Blasio’s goal of building or preserving 300,000 affordable-housing units by 2026 and has already financed more than 165,000 units.
Thorobird Managing Member Thomas Campbell described the financing of 1921 Atlantic Ave. as a “phenomenal model for our nation.”
“We are proud and looking forward to [helping create] affordable homes for those who need it most,” Campbell said.
