MAYOR ADAMS CELEBRATES OPENING OF 90 SANDS, FORMER HOTEL REIMAGINED AS AFFORDABLE, SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

 

90 Sands Brings Nearly 500 New Affordable and Supportive Homes to Brooklyn With Successful Pilot Program to Directly Refer Clients from Street Outreach

 

Project Delivers on Goals Outlined in Mayor Adams’ “Housing Our Neighbors” Blueprint and Demonstrates Need for State Law on Hotel Conversions That Adams Administration Helped Pass

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) today joined Breaking Ground to celebrate the opening of 90 Sands, a former Jehovah’s Witnesses hotel converted into 491 affordable and supportive housing units in the high-cost neighborhood of Dumbo, Brooklyn. Of the 491 apartments at 90 Sands, 185 will be rent-restricted for New Yorkers — affordable for extremely low- to moderate-income households. Additionally, 305 units will be home to New Yorkers who formerly experienced homelessness.

 

“When we launched ‘Housing Our Neighbors,’ I said that safe, stable, and affordable housing is fundamental to a prosperous, inclusive city. That is what we are delivering today,” said Mayor Adams. “90 Sands demonstrates exactly why we fought for hotel conversion legislation in Albany: To create affordable housing more quickly and efficiently than we can starting from scratch. And I promised we would celebrate New Yorkers getting into homes, not people signing deals, and I am proud to say that with our innovative referral pilot, we housed 80 people here in just one week.”

 

The Adams administration worked closely with Breaking Ground to implement a pilot program specific to the development of 90 Sands that allowed for the direct referral of clients experiencing homelessness from street outreach and transitional housing programs to supportive apartments. This streamlined process — made possible by cross-agency collaboration — cuts the time it typically takes to complete a permanent housing placement by more than two months.

 

As a part of Mayor Adams’ “Housing Our Neighbors” blueprint, the city is also pursuing opportunities to convert vacant hotels into new supportive and affordable housing, creating additional housing options for low-income households and New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. This project underwent a lengthy and expensive land use review process to convert to affordable housing, despite being uniquely well positioned for such a conversion. A new state law that Mayor Adams helped get passed in the state Legislature — which would have eliminated two years from the development process at 90 Sands had it been in place — will ease the process for these conversions going forward, and additional state funds are available to help these projects reach completion more quickly and cost efficiently.

 

“As a lifelong supportive housing advocate, I am so proud to celebrate the opening of 90 Sands with Breaking Ground, CUCS, and all of our new neighbors who now have a home of their own. This project was not easy, including a lengthy and expensive land use rezoning, but it is a model of the type of work we can do to house all New Yorkers,” said Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz. “Beyond housing for almost 500 more people, a top priority of the Adams administration strategic housing blueprint, ‘Housing Our Neighbors,’ is to tackle administrative burdens that delay housing access. In an incredible feat, Breaking Ground and CUCS worked with the city to house people in a new direct referral pilot that we hope to explore as a way to get people out of the shelter system and into permanent housing faster.”

 

“In line with this administration’s ‘Housing Our Neighbors’ blueprint, serving the most vulnerable New Yorkers is a key priority, as is creating affordable housing opportunities in all our city’s neighborhoods. As we look to convert vacant hotels into affordable and supportive housing, 90 Sands serves as an important model,” said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión. “An old hotel is now 491 beautiful affordable homes in the heart of Dumbo, with critical supportive services to help more than 300 New Yorkers formerly experiencing homelessness get back on their feet. We commend Breaking Ground and all our partners for bringing this ambitious project to fruition.”

 

“The 90 Sands development is providing hundreds of households with safe and affordable housing alongside extensive services, ranging from case management to health care and career counseling,” said New York City Housing Development Corporation President Eric Enderlin. “Congratulations to all the residents on their new homes, and thanks to our many partners who remain deeply committed to providing safe and stable housing to New Yorkers in need.”

 

“This administration continues to put people first by prioritizing the creation of affordable and supportive housing across the city, while also expanding access to these critical housing opportunities for some of our most vulnerable populations,” said New York City Department of Social Services Commissioner Gary P. Jenkins. “Projects like 90 Sands are essential to the city’s effort to efficiently connect New Yorkers in need — including those who formerly experienced homelessness — to affordable housing and high-quality supports that allow them to stabilize their lives and get back on their feet. We would like to thank Breaking Ground, CUCS, our partners in city government, and all others who worked so hard to make this tremendous project a reality.”

 

The 30-story building features a 24-hour attended lobby, security camera system throughout, multipurpose room for community events and meetings, a digital library, a fitness room, and extensive bike storage. 90 Sands also includes a newly activated plaza for public use at the corner of Sands Street and Jay Street, adding a new green space to the Downtown Brooklyn and Dumbo communities. Breaking Ground plans to bring in community-serving uses to occupy more than 20,000 square feet of community facility and commercial space on the ground floor and lower level.

 

CUCS will provide onsite social services to residents of 90 Sands. Services provided at 90 Sands will be available to all tenants and will include case management, primary medical care, mental health services, employment readiness, and benefits counseling, among others. Breaking Ground and CUCS have a longstanding partnership, and 90 Sands marks their 12^th building together to provide housing and onsite support for individuals and families formerly experiencing homelessness. This is Breaking Ground’s fourth hotel conversion project in New York City.

 

Until August 2017, 90 Sands was a residential hotel operated by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. On this project, Monadnock Construction, Inc. is the general contractor, Beyer Blinder Belle is the project architect, and W Architecture and Planning designed the public plaza space at the corner of Jay and Sands Street.