FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 10, 2021
CONTACT: media@nycha.nyc.gov | (212) 306-3322

NYCHA, HPD, And HDC Celebrate Completion of Construction for Van Dyke III Affordable Housing Project with Ribbon-Cutting Event

The new 12-story building constructed on NYCHA property delivers 179 permanently affordable residential apartments, renovated public amenities, a community health clinic, and supportive services to residents living in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn

Photos of the newly completed housing development are available below.

 

BROOKLYN, NY – Today, NYCHA Chairman & CEO Greg Russ and HDC President Eric Enderlin joined with Trinity Financial and a group of business, nonprofit, and community leaders to celebrate the opening of Van Dyke III, a supportive and affordable housing development in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn. The 100 percent affordable housing project was realized in partnership with HDC and HPD and includes 179 permanently affordable residential apartments for extremely low- and low-income households, as well as one superintendent’s unit. The 12-story building was constructed on underutilized land at NYCHA’s Van Dyke campus on Dumont Avenue between Mother Gaston Boulevard and Powell Street. In addition to campus-wide landscape improvements and a public mural, the Van Dyke site will also include a daycare facility, community health clinic, and wellness center. Supportive services will be provided by the nonprofit, CAMBA.

“Van Dyke III shows what is possible when we put underused NYCHA land to work hosting housing and community facilities that support both NYCHA residents and the broader community,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been. “A big thank you to all the agency and non-profit partners who made this project a reality. Kudos as well to Trinity Financial for its exceptional work in tapping local Section 3 MWBE businesses and in hiring so many low-income residents of NYCHA and the local community to work on the project.”

“New York City must do all we can to address our NYCHA crisis, particularly as we simultaneously fight a pandemic and an economic crisis,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “Today’s ribbon cutting event celebrating the completion of the Van Dyke III affordable housing project is just such a measure that comes forth in the right way, at the right time. My office is proud to have allocated $800,000 towards this worthy project in FY18. It is wonderful to see great efforts coming to fruition on permanent affordability for extremely low- and low-income households.”

“The completion of Van Dyke III is a yet another example of what is possible when the public and private sectors work together for community,” said New York City Councilmember Alicka Ampry-Samuel. “The provision of 179 permanently affordable and supportive housing units is life-changing for the residents and their families and also beneficial for the entire community. I am very excited about the transformational projects that we have undergone in Brownville and proud that our local residents have received much deserving attention and support. I am grateful to all of the partners that have come together to make this vision a reality.”

"Affordable, accessible housing is a necessity to thrive and is a key component in stabilizing District 55. I made it a high priority to allocate funding to this vital Brooklyn initiative,” said Assemblywoman Latrice Walker. “We are in a housing crisis that is causing chaos in our communities. The 100 percent affordable residential complex comprised of extremely low- and low-income households is needed and welcome to our neighborhood. The new Van Dyke complex will also include a day care facility, community health clinic, and wellness center which are all services that neighborhoods need for stability."

“NYCHA is committed to facilitating the creation of high-quality affordable housing and amenities where they are needed most,” said NYCHA Chair & CEO Greg Russ. “The collection of resources, facilities, and affordable housing represented in the Van Dyke III project will benefit this neighborhood for generations to come.”

"Van Dyke III has raised the bar for what affordable housing can look like and create for a community" said NYCHA EVP of Real Estate Development Jonathan Gouveia. “Our partners have delivered exceptional design and finishes while creating neighborhood amenities, economic opportunities, and supportive services that demonstrate what can be achieved when a project is really responsive to community input.”

“Through the Mayor’s housing plan we’ve been working aggressively to put our public land to use for affordable housing and develop projects that bring public amenities to strengthen neighborhoods,” said HPD Commissioner Louise Carroll. “Van Dyke III has leveraged NYCHA land to create 179 affordable homes, a community health clinic, and supportive services provided by CAMBA that will benefit NYCHA residents and the surrounding Brownsville community.”

“Today’s celebration marks a true achievement for the Brownsville community and the City’s mission to create more affordable housing for all New Yorkers,” said HDC President Eric Enderlin. “Van Dyke III adds 179 permanently affordable homes to the neighborhood, with 54 reserved for formerly homeless households, as well as onsite supportive services for its residents. Congratulations and thank you to all of our partners for their continued efforts in the realization of vital developments such as this.”

“Van Dyke III is the latest success story in a long line of transformational projects made possible by the State’s Brownfield Cleanup Program,” said New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos. “Brownfield cleanups are revitalizing communities across the state by helping return hundreds of underutilized and formerly polluted properties back to productive use, benefitting both the environment and local economies. DEC is proud to partner with New York City on this project, which will bring much-needed affordable housing opportunities to Brownsville and boost Brooklyn’s economy and quality of life.”

“The Van Dyke III project is a remarkable example of longstanding hyper local organizations, community leaders and residents coming together to address the critical needs of the community: affordable housing, health care, education, and jobs, while sustaining the cultural identity of the community,” said Genese Morgan, Chairperson of Brooklyn Community Board 16. “I believe this project will have a positive impact on the Brownsville community for many decades to come and on behalf of Brooklyn Community Board 16 I would like to thank Trinity Financial for working with the community so genuinely.”

“We look forward to seeing our residents take advantage of all of the resources available at Van Dyke III, and believe that it will allow so many families to enjoy a better quality of life,” said Van Dyke Houses Resident Association President Lisa Kenner. “Throughout the design and construction of this new building, the developer kept our resident association informed and engaged, and the input we had on everything from the programming available to the upgrades that were made reflects the fact that residents of Van Dyke Houses live together, work together, and will uplift each other through this exciting new development.”

“BMS Family Health Center is pleased to bring a unique opportunity for our community residents to access urgent care services right in their neighborhood,” said Brownsville Multi-Service Family Health Center President & CEO Harvey Lawrence. “BMS Express will be unique in that unlike more traditional urgent care providers we will treat and connect patients to other wellness services which impact overall health and wellbeing such as education, and employment, and housing, and other supportive resources- essentially the Social Determinants of Health. Adjacent to BMS Express is our Wellness studio which has a full-service kitchen designed around our MEL initiative (Move, Eat, and Live)."

“Van Dyke III not only increases the amount of necessary affordable housing, but also establishes a supportive and safe community for many of the neighborhood’s most vulnerable residents,” said Michael Lohr, Vice President in the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Urban Investment Group. “Goldman Sachs is proud to partner with NYCHA, HPD, HDC and Trinity Financial on this investment in the future of Brownsville.”

“We’re proud to have been a part of this project which will help provide equal access to safe, quality affordable housing to Brooklyn residents,” said Richard Gerwitz, Co-Head of Citi Community Capital. “Van Dyke III is a wonderful example of the type of public/private partnership that helps to address the urgency and the critical need of such an important issue.”

“It has been incredibly rewarding for Trinity and our partners to work so closely with NYCHA, the Van Dyke Residents and the greater Brownsville community to successfully develop such a transformational project providing much-needed affordable and supportive housing in addition to ground floor community space” said Thomas Brown, Vice President of Development at Trinity Financial. “We greatly appreciate all of the hard work exhibited by the development team and our funding partners, including HPD and HDC.”

This project was designated through a joint NYCHA and HPD Request for Proposals, and advances the goals of Mayor de Blasio’s housing plan to build or preserve 300,000 affordable homes by 2026.

Thirty-one apartments at Van Dyke III will be set aside for NYCHA residents in addition to 54 apartments for formerly homeless residents in the surrounding neighborhood. Supportive services will be provided by the Brooklyn-based nonprofit CAMBA, through an on-site office suite that offers case management, trainings, referral services, and community-building activities. The building also contains ground floor community spaces, including a daycare center operated by Friends of Crown Heights, a community health clinic operated by BMS Family Health and Wellness Center, and a wellness center operated by BMS Family Health and Wellness Center.

Building amenities at Van Dyke include a computer lab, a fitness room, a tenant lounge, a community room, an accessible roof deck, a package delivery room, and a ground floor outdoor recreational area complete with a new mural showcasing the faces of notable Brownsville activists, community leaders, celebrities, and more. The project also included site improvements to the Van Dyke campus, including a newly updated basketball court with artwork designed by Sophia Dawson and painted by residents and other community members.

The development partner, Trinity Financial, exceeded its targets for M/WBE procurement and Section 3 hiring. Approximately 38 percent of the original total construction contract involves Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) as subcontractors and suppliers on the project. More than $1.7 million of the construction work for subcontractors was awarded to local businesses, and $6.2 million to Section 3 businesses. Over 80 percent of the project’s new hires are represented by low- or very low-income workers, including 17 of the new hires who are NYCHA residents, nine of whom live at Van Dyke Houses. As part of a workforce partnership, the project has additionally provided Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) training to more than 30 low-income residents, of which 25 were NYCHA residents.

Van Dyke III was financed under HDC and HPD’s ELLA program. HDC provided $46.670 million in tax-exempt bonds and $11.7 million in corporate reserves, HPD contributed $23.4 million in City Capital. The project benefited from low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) resulting in a total of $39.243 million in tax credit equity. Brooklyn Borough President provided $800,000 in Reso A funds. The Urban Investment Group within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“Goldman Sachs”) was the tax-credit investor and Citi Community Capital provided a stand-by letter of credit.

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About NYCHA

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the largest public housing authority in North America, was created in 1935 to provide decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. NYCHA is home to roughly 1 in 15 New Yorkers across over 177,000 apartments within 335 housing developments. NYCHA serves over 350,000 residents through the conventional public housing program (Section 9), over 20,000 residents at developments that have been converted to PACT/RAD, and over 75,000 families through federal rent subsidies (the Section 8 Leased Housing Program). In addition, NYCHA connects residents to opportunities in financial empowerment, business development, career advancement, and educational programs. With a housing stock that spans all five boroughs, NYCHA is a city within a city.

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the nation’s largest municipal housing preservation and development agency. Its mission is to promote quality housing and diverse, thriving neighborhoods for New Yorkers through loan and development programs for new affordable housing, preservation of the affordability of the existing housing stock, enforcement of housing quality standards, and educational programs for tenants and building owners. HPD is tasked with advancing the goals of the City’s housing plan – a critical pillar of Your Home NYC, Mayor de Blasio’s comprehensive approach to helping New Yorkers get, afford, and keep housing in these challenging times. For full details visit www.nyc.gov/hpd and for regular updates on HPD news and services, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @NYCHousing.

About the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC)

The New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) is the nation’s largest municipal Housing Finance Agency and is charged with helping to finance the creation or preservation of affordable housing under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York plan. Since 2003, HDC has financed more than 180,000 housing units using over $23.5 billion in bonds and other debt obligations, and provided in excess of $2.9 billion in subsidy. HDC ranks among the nation’s top issuers of mortgage revenue bonds for affordable multi-family housing on Thomson Reuter’s annual list of multi-family bond issuers. In each of the last seven consecutive years, HDC’s annual bond issuance has surpassed $1 billion. For additional information, visit: http://www.nychdc.com.