Mamdani Administration Breaks Ground on Timbale Terrace Affordable Housing Development

 

Project will include 341 affordable homes, including apartments for formerly homeless New Yorkers 

  

Development will include a permanent home for Casa Belongó Music and Arts Center, expanding access to arts and cultural education in East Harlem 

Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, city officials and development partners broke ground on Timbale Terrace, a 100% affordable, mixed-use development that will deliver 341 affordable homes and a new community arts center to East Harlem.   

  

The project marks a major milestone for the City’s commitment to deeply affordable housing and to building on underused public land for public good.  

  

Timbale Terrace will transform a former NYPD parking lot into permanently affordable housing, community space and replacement parking. The development will include 97 homes reserved for formerly homeless New Yorkers through the NYC 15/15 program, including 30 units for young people aging out of foster care. On-site wraparound services focused on health, education and employment will be provided by Lantern Organization.  

  

The development will also house the new Casa Belongó Music and Arts Center, a more than 20,000-square-foot cultural space for music education, performance and community programming. The center will serve as a permanent home for Belongó and as a cultural anchor in East Harlem.  

  

“Affordable housing is the foundation of a rich, diverse city where all New Yorkers can live with dignity. Timbale Terrace shows what’s possible when we use public land to meet public need. By building deeply affordable homes across the five boroughs, we are making New York City a place families can afford to stay and thrive,” said Mamdani.   

  

“Timbale Terrace exemplifies the best of our affordable housing efforts: strengthening neighborhoods, enlivening the street, creating cultural space, and creating affordable housing for the New Yorkers who need it most. This groundbreaking is a major step forward for East Harlem and shows what is possible when government is working with and for communities. I am looking forward to working with partners across the city to create even more affordable housing on city-owned sites in the years to come,” said Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning.  

  

“Timbale Terrace will deliver 341 affordable homes to East Harlem, nearly a third of which will be set aside for formerly homeless New Yorkers and youth aging out of foster care,” said New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) President Eric Enderlin. “HDC is proud to support this development and grateful to our partners for their commitment to expanding much-needed affordable housing, supportive services, and vibrant cultural resources in this community.”  

  

Located at East 118th Street and Park Avenue, Timbale Terrace will activate the Park Avenue commercial corridor with ground-floor uses and incorporate sustainable design features. The project was identified through the East Harlem Neighborhood Rezoning plan approved in 2017. The City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) released a competitive request for proposals for the site in 2019, and Mega Development LLC and Lantern Organization were designated in 2021, with Belongó as a cultural partner.   

  

The development is supported by city subsidy, Housing Development Corporation bonds, the Department of Cultural Affairs, former Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, the New York City Council and state and private partners.   

  

“Timbale Terrace is a blueprint for what is possible in addressing our city’s affordability crisis,” said New York City Comptroller Mark Levine. “From the very beginning, this was a project that centered community voices, and aims to deliver a rich cultural and economic boost through the programs it prioritizes, including the Casa Belongó Music and Arts Center. I am proud to see it break ground today, and look forward to its completion in the near future.”  

  

“I'm thrilled to join Mayor Mamdani, HPD, HDC, DCLA, and our committed partners in breaking ground on Timbale Terrace, a shining example of 100% affordable housing combined with vital supportive services and a new cultural cornerstone for East Harlem,” said Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal. “I commend Mayor Mamdani's leadership on truly affordable housing, our city agencies, Lantern Organization, Belongó, Mega Development LLC, Goldman Sachs, and state partners for delivering on the East Harlem Neighborhood Rezoning Plan. Timbale Terrace points the way to the inclusive, sustainable future our borough deserves.”