NEW YORK – Today, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) announced the selection of four new partnerships under its 100% Affordable Housing program, its NextGen Neighborhoods program, and its FHA Vacant Homes program. NYCHA expects to generate over $40 million through these transactions for badly needed repairs while also building 620 new affordable homes for seniors and families across Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. NYCHA will retain ownership of all sites.
The selection of these partners is the result of an extensive community engagement process dedicated to understanding resident concerns before the RFP release and addressing them in the final design. NYCHA held 15 resident meetings, distributed almost 2,000 notices, and spoke with over 1,200 residents directly. Throughout the process, resident meetings and community visioning workshops were held to identify residents’ top priorities. NYCHA residents will remain in their homes with their rents unaffected by these programs.
“NextGen NYCHA was designed to address serious repair needs of our residents and the City’s affordable housing shortage,” said NYCHA Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye. “NextGen Neighborhoods and the 100% Affordable Housing Program will generate new affordable housing and critical funding for infrastructure to help improve the lives of our residents as well as the City’s low-income and vulnerable populations.”
“We will continue to aggressively identify innovative ways to maximize the potential of public land and generate affordable housing opportunities for our city’s residents, which is key to maintaining the success of the Mayor’s Housing New York plan,” said HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. “By undertaking a thoughtful partnership with NYCHA and working together with the community to find solutions that benefit our city’s neighborhoods as a whole, we are creating over 600 affordable homes for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers.”
“I look forward to working with the selected teams and our City partners at NYCHA and HPD as we come through on our commitments under HNY 2.0 with expansive projects like Sumner Houses, Twin Park West and Wycoff Gardens,” said HDC President Eric Enderlin. “By working in partnership across government, non-profit, and private sectors, we are able to improve the housing quality of NYCHA residents, while also making smart use of scarce public land to create new affordable housing for 620 families and seniors.”
NYCHA selected Selfhelp Community Services, RiseBoro Community Partnership, and Urban Builders Collaborative to develop a 10-story senior housing building at Sumner Houses in Brooklyn. This project will create 197 affordable housing units and provide more than 20,000 square feet of community space for residents. Sumner contributes to Housing New York 2.0’s “Seniors First” program, a commitment to build senior housing on NYCHA-owned land. For the duration of the 99-year ground lease, the apartments at Sumner Houses will be affordable to extremely low, very low, and low-income individuals earning up to $40,080.
In addition, NYCHA selected Settlement Housing Fund and Joy Construction to develop 172 affordable housing units at Twin Park West in the Bronx under the 100% Affordable Housing program, where the newly constructed homes will be affordable for low- to moderate-income households earning up to $68,720 for a family of three. This project will provide 11,000 square feet of retail space, including a restaurant and training facility, and 1,000 square feet of social service space overseen by BronxWorks.
Under the NextGen Neighborhoods program, the Authority has selected The Arker Companies and Two Trees to develop two 16-story mixed-income buildings at Wyckoff Gardens in Brooklyn totaling 500 units. Both buildings will have 50 percent market-rate and 50 percent affordable housing for low-income households earning up to $51,540 for a family of three. This development will bring NYCHA $37 million upon closing, with $18.5 million directly invested into Wyckoff Gardens – covering nearly half of the complex’s $43 million in outstanding capital repair needs. The additional $18.5 million will be invested across other NYCHA developments to make critical repairs.
For both the 100% Affordable Housing and NextGen Neighborhoods programs, NYCHA will provide the developers with a long-term ground lease while retaining full ownership of the land. HPD will oversee the affordability requirements laid out in the 99-year ground leases of the privately managed buildings within the new developments. As part of the lease terms, the developers must train and hire NYCHA residents and proactively engage residents on a regular basis as the projects move forward.
NYCHA residents will have preference for 25 percent of the affordable apartments through HPD’s housing lottery. Residents at Wyckoff Gardens, Sumner Houses, and Twin Parks West will not be moved from their homes or see changes in their rents. NYCHA is committed to minimizing any impacts to residents.
“Selfhelp Community Services is thrilled to be selected to develop close to 200 units of senior affordable housing at the Sumner Houses in Brooklyn. Selfhelp will bring over 50 years of experience in developing affordable senior housing in NYC to central Brooklyn. Together with our partners – RiseBoro Community Partnership, Urban Builders Collaborative, and our architect, Studio Libeskind – we will combine state-of-the-art design and construction, programs to promote community connectivity and economic development, and services that enable older adults to age independently in the community and City they call home,” said Selfhelp Community Services CEO Stuart C. Kaplan. “I’d like to thank Mayor de Blasio, and the leadership and staff of NYCHA, HPD, and HDC, for their partnership and visionary plan to make New York City a better place to age.”
“Thriving communities require strong foundations and pathways of opportunity. RiseBoro Community Partnership is thrilled to be able to help craft a project to achieve both, within a building that will be unlike anything else in Bed-Stuy. I believe the mix of innovative programming, affordable senior housing, and iconic design delivered by the Atrium at Sumner will be a catalyst to unleash the potential of the Sumner community," said RiseBoro CEO Scott Short. “We are excited to work in partnership with existing residents, NYCHA, HPD, and our partners at Selfhelp Community Services and Lettire/UBC to bring this state-of-the-art project to realization.”
“Settlement Housing Fund and Joy Construction are excited to start work on Twin Parks Terrace, a new development that will bring a range of affordable housing to Twin Parks West,” said Alexa Sewell, President, Settlement Housing Fund. “Our vision for a dynamic development that incorporates job training opportunities, expansion of local recreational services, and a new neighborhood-based restaurant and training program was motivated by the community planning and visioning process. Our entire team is thrilled to join in making this vision a reality.”
“Joy Construction is excited to be working with Settlement Housing Fund, NYCHA, HPD, and HDC on the Twin Parks West development,” said Joy Construction Principal Eli S. Weiss. “We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to building a product that speaks to our long-standing track record and commitment to building high-quality affordable housing in the Bronx."
“The Arker Companies, along with our partner Two Trees Management Co., is proud to work with the City to develop much-needed affordable housing while generating millions in funding to support NYCHA,” said The Arker Companies Principal Daniel Moritz. “We look forward to partnering with the community to deliver 250 beautiful, affordable new homes for Brooklyn families in the heart of Boerum Hill.”
In addition, NYCHA selected two development partners – Habitat for Humanity New York City, Inc. and Restored Homes HDFC, an affiliate of Neighborhood Restore Housing Development Fund Corporation – for an affordable housing program comprised of the purchase, rehabilitation, and affordable resale of 29 vacant homes in Brooklyn and Queens. NYCHA inherited these homes in the 1970s and 80s and has never received operating or capital funds for them. As the homes have become vacant, NYCHA has partnered with the non-profit development community to repair the homes in order to sell them to low- and moderate-income families.
Habitat NYC will purchase 13 vacant, fully detached, single-family homes in Queens, with a plan to construct 16 new units. The new homes will be resold to low-to-moderate-income households. Restored Homes will purchase and completely refurbish eight single-family and eight multifamily homes in Queens and Brooklyn. The 16 homes will be resold to families earning a range of incomes.
“We are pleased to be working with NYCHA and HPD in overseeing the rehabilitation and sale of 16 one-to-four-family homes through the FHA Vacant Homes Program,” said Salvatore D’Avola, Executive Director of Neighborhood Restore Housing Development Fund Corporation. “By redeveloping these vacant and abandoned homes into affordable homeownership opportunities, we are seeking to foster neighborhood stabilization while helping low- and moderate-income New Yorkers achieve their dream of an affordable home.”
“Turning these dilapidated structures into affordable homeownership units will not only provide 16 families with the opportunity for housing stability and equity, but will also revitalize the larger community,” said Karen Haycox, CEO of Habitat for Humanity New York City. “We are excited to work with NYCHA to promote our shared vision of a city where lower income New Yorkers have access to safe, decent and affordable housing.”
With $17 billion in capital needs, NYCHA is looking to creative new sources outside federal, state, and city budgets for funding. In May 2015, the Authority launched NextGeneration NYCHA, a ten-year strategic plan to achieve financial security, in order to continue NYCHA’s work as a landlord and offer residents better lives. These 620 units will also help achieve Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York 2.0 Plan to create and preserve 300,000 affordable housing units by 2026.
