Development Includes Commercial Space for Grocery Store Offering Fresh Produce
New York City Mayor Eric Adams today broke ground on Phase 1A of the “Innovative Urban Village” housing development, which will create 385 affordable and supportive homes in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. Apartments built as part of the first phase will be affordable to households earning up to 80 percent of the area median income, and there will also be 94 apartments reserved for households eligible for on-site support services — including those struggling with homelessness — such as case management, legal services, nutritional support, and social services. Phase 1A will also include commercial space for a fresh food grocery store. The nearly $271 million project is part of the comprehensive redevelopment of the Christian Cultural Center’s campus. Once complete, the entire multi-phase redevelopment will create a total of 2,000 affordable apartments in 10 buildings and feature community space with child care, senior services, workforce development, and a new performing arts center. Today’s announcement continues to build on the Adams administration’s record as the most pro-housing administration in city history. In addition to creating record amounts of affordable housing two years in a row, passing the first citywide zoning reform in 60 years, and advancing five neighborhood plans to create jobs and new housing across the city, new housing like his one will help New York City reach Mayor Adams’ moonshot goal of creating 500,000 new homes by 2032.
“The best way to tackle our city’s housing crisis is to build more affordable housing, and that is exactly what our administration is doing. ‘Innovative Urban Village’ will bring more homes, more jobs, and more joy to Brooklyn, while giving more New Yorkers access to a brighter future in this vibrant community. By investing a total of $217 million to build 385 affordable homes, we are taking massive steps to make East New York one of the best places to live and raise a family,” said Mayor Adams. “From creating record amounts of affordable housing year after year to passing historic zoning reform that will build new homes across our entire city, we are proud to be the most pro-housing administration in our city’s history. Thank you to Governor Hochul and Reverend Bernard for their shared vision and partnership in bringing this ambitious project to life.”
“Projects like Innovative Urban Village represent more than the construction of housing — they breathe life into a promise made to the people of Brooklyn and to our city: that development can be rooted in equity, shaped by community, and guided by care,” said New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Acting Commissioner Ahmed Tigani. “Phase 1A is just one piece of a larger vision that spans multiple mixed-use buildings with community amenities and nearly 2,000 homes, including supportive housing for New Yorkers transitioning out of homelessness.”
“HDC is proud to support the financing of this dynamic, multi-phased project that will provide much-needed affordable housing for low-income and formerly homeless New Yorkers,” said New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) President Eric Enderlin. “In addition to brand-new affordable homes, Innovative Urban Village will deliver commercial and community facility space that will benefit the broader East New York neighborhood for years to come. Congratulations to all our partners on reaching this latest milestone.”
“New York remains committed to keeping our state affordable and ensuring everyone has a safe and modern home to call their own,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul. “This project is helping us fight the housing affordability crisis while also prioritizing improvements that will make the neighborhood more livable for families. ‘Innovative Urban Village’ would not have been possible without the cooperation of all our partners, including Mayor Adams and the Christian Cultural Center, who are dedicated to making New York a more affordable place to live. We look forward to the project’s completion and to welcoming residents home.”
“It’s incredible to stand alongside each of the partners, elected officials, and community members that worked together to make Innovative Urban Village a reality,” said Christian Cultural Center Senior Pastor Rev A. R. Bernard. “We are confident that the ripple effects of this dynamic mixed-income community will be felt far beyond East New York, setting an example for all of New York to follow.”
Phase 1A is part of a multi-phase program to redevelop the Christian Cultural Center’s campus. The redevelopment is a joint-venture partnership between Urban Resource Institute, The Gotham Organization, and Monadnock Development. It was designed by Patrice for Architecture and Urbanism. The Urban Resource Institute will also provide on-site support services. The multi-phase program will enhance interconnectivity, promote walkability, and, ultimately, include a total of 2,000 affordable apartments in 10 buildings. New streets are being added as an extension of the existing street grid to maximize walkability through interconnected pedestrian routes and three acres of open space.
Innovative Urban Village will also feature all-electric heating and cooling, solar panels, green roofs with drought-resistant vegetation to reduce heat and water consumption, electric vehicle charging stations, low-flow fixtures, LED lighting, and ENERGY STAR appliances.
The City of New York rezoned the project site to accommodate the redevelopment. Innovative Urban Village is supported by $47 million from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) Extremely Low and Low-Income Affordability Program. Additional support will come from the New York state Homes and Community Renewals’ Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which is expected to generate more than $115 million in equity and $47 million from its Housing Finance Agency.
“New Yorkers deserve access to affordable, secure, and modern housing. This development will help revitalize Christian Cultural Center’s campus, deliver critical support services for our most vulnerable, and bring another much-needed grocery store to East New York,” said New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “I look forward to seeing the positive impact this project will have and will keep fighting for federal funding to expand affordable housing in our state and across the country.”
“We’re excited to be part of the holistic transformation occurring in East New York, and we believe our $162 million investment in ‘Innovative Urban Village’ will benefit this neighborhood and 385 households for years to come,” said New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas. “I am grateful to Governor Hochul and the City of New York, Christian Cultural Center, Gotham Organization, Monadnock, and all our partners for their vision and dedication to making this project possible.”
“Today’s groundbreaking is a defining moment for Gotham and for the city my family has called home for over a century,” said David L. Picket, CEO, Gotham Organization. “’Innovative Urban Village’ reflects our core values as a company — delivering high-quality housing that meets the needs of real New Yorkers while strengthening the fabric of our neighborhoods. IUV is the result of vision, partnership, and perseverance, and we’re proud to work with our partners in bringing it to life. It’s a powerful example of what can happen when the public and private sectors come together with purpose.”
“This moment is the result of years of dedicated collaboration with our partners, community leaders, and city agencies,” said Bryan Kelly, president of development, Gotham Organization. “We’re creating a neighborhood that prioritizes affordability, sustainability, and opportunity for all. At Gotham, we believe deeply in the power of thoughtfully planned development to uplift communities, and together with our partners and local stakeholders, have envisioned ‘Innovative Urban Village’ to set a new standard for future housing developments. This is a meaningful step toward a more inclusive and equitable New York City.”
Since entering office, Mayor Adams has made historic investments to create more affordable housing and ensure more New Yorkers have a place to call home. The Adams administration is advancing several robust neighborhood plans that, if adopted, would deliver more than 50,000 units over the next 15 years to New York neighborhoods. In addition to the Bronx-Metro North Station Area Plan and the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan, both of which have been passed by the New York City Council, the Adams administration is advancing plans in Midtown South in Manhattan, as well as Jamaica and Long Island City in Queens.
Moreover, last December, Mayor Adams celebrated the passage of “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity,” the most pro-housing proposal in city history that will build 80,000 new homes over 15 years and invest $5 billion towards critical infrastructure updates and housing. In June 2024, City Hall and the New York City Council agreed to an on-time, balanced, and fiscally-responsible $112.4 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Adopted Budget that invested $2 billion in capital funds across FY25 and FY26 to HPD and the New York City Housing Authority capital budgets. In total, the Adams administration has committed $24.7 billion in housing capital in the current 10-year plan as the city faces a generational housing crisis. Over the last two years, Mayor Adams celebrated back-to-back record-breaking fiscal years, as well as back-to-back calendar years, in both creating and connecting New Yorkers to affordable housing. In the spring of 2024, the city celebrated the largest 100 percent affordable housing project in 40 years with the Willets Point transformation.
Building on the success of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, Mayor Adams unveiled his “City of Yes for Families” strategy earlier this year to build more homes and create more family-friendly neighborhoods across New York City. Under City of Yes for Families, the Adams administration is advancing more housing on city-owned sites, creating new tools to support homeownership, and building more housing alongside schools, playgrounds, grocery stores, accessible transit stations, and libraries.
Further, the Adams administration is using every tool available to address the city’s housing crisis. Mayor Adams announced multiple new tools, including a $4 million state grant, to help New York City homeowners create accessory dwelling units that will not only help older adults afford to remain in the communities they call home but also help build generational wealth for families. In addition to creating more housing opportunities, the Adams administration is actively working to strengthen tenant protections and support homeowners. The “Partners in Preservation” program was expanded citywide in 2024 through a $24 million investment in local organizations to support tenant organizing and combat harassment in rent-regulated housing. The Homeowner Help Desk, a trusted one-stop shop for low-income homeowners to receive financial and legal counseling from local organizations, was also expanded citywide in 2024 with a $13 million funding commitment.
Finally, Mayor Adams and members of his administration successfully advocated for new tools in the 2024 New York state budget that will spur the creation of urgently needed housing. These tools include a new tax incentive for multifamily rental construction, a tax incentive program to encourage office conversions to create more affordable units, lifting the arbitrary “floor-to-area ratio” cap that held back affordable housing production in certain high-demand areas of the city, and the ability to create a pilot program to legalize and make safe basement apartments.
