39-Hegeman-091409.jpg
Last Thursday, the boards of the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) and the New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA) approved $181.6 million in financing today to build and preserve 2,060 units of affordable housing throughout New York State. One of the lucky projects was a 161-unit development slated to be built at 39 Hegeman Avenue in Brownsville. The project—which received $30.75 million in funding—will provide studio apartments for low-income individuals and homeless single adults from Brownsville; a hundred apartments will be set aside for formerly homeless adults who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS or mental illness. The Hegeman project is part of Common Ground‘s neighborhood-based homelessness prevention effort in Brownsville one of New York City’s poorest communities, where disproportionate numbers of residents become homeless. A full press release is here.


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Hi East New York,

    I HAVE been to Brownsville. I’m just saying imagine if you were to build the same building in Flushing, and everyone in the rendering was chinese. True, Flushing has a population of mostly Chinese people. But still, don’t you think it’s a little weird?

  2. Rob, in this case you’re very wrong. This project is right across the street from Brookdale Medical Center.

    I don’t have a problem with affordable housing units being provided within an otherwise luxury development. I do have a real problem when the provision of affordable housing is done as a bailout of the developer, as a way to prop up prices. The real way to increase the stock of affordable housing is to increase the stock of housing, period, and let supply and demand work to set the market. Price support in the form of bailouts for luxury developers is contrary to this.

  3. Anyone looking to revitaize a new area could aim right for Brownsville, the housing stock there is ghastly.

    Trying to recall Act 2 of scenarios where homeless people are housed in developments like this…I just don’t know enought about the homeless issue sadly.