NYCHA land in 4 Brooklyn neighborhoods will give way to senior housing

Governor Andrew Cuomo is planning to create 1,000 affordable homes for seniors on underutilized land owned by the New York City Housing Authority in various parts of Brooklyn. In an announcement made on Monday, Cuomo revealed that New York State Homes and Community Renewal will finance the new affordable homes as part of the state’s $1.4 billion Vital Brooklyn Initiative.

The newly constructed housing will be 100 percent affordable and will rise throughout central Brooklyn neighborhoods. In April, Cuomo launched phase two of his Vital Brooklyn initiative and announced a series of Request for Proposals (RFP’s) to construct more than 2,000 affordable homes in Central Brooklyn neighborhoods like Crown Heights, Bed-Stuy, East New York, and Brownsville.

“This investment will seize the potential of vacant properties and help 1,000 seniors move into quality living environments and support our efforts to improve wellness and opportunities in these communities,” Said Governor Cuomo in a statement.

The Vital Brooklyn Initiative was announced last March and aims to increase open space in prioritized Brooklyn neighborhoods, invest $563 million to build 3,000 units of affordable housing on state-owned sites, and spend $23 million on resiliency and sustainability efforts. However, the plan has also prompted fears of advancing gentrification in the neighborhoods included in the plan, though Cuomo argues that the plan is essentially aiming to keep locals in place and avoid gentrification.