Brooklyn Borough President

Borough President Announces More Than $2.5 Million for Brooklyn Housing Development Fund

Funds will help make available more than
500 affordable housing units

Last month, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz hosted his first Brooklyn Housing Summit to call attention and to seek solutions to one of the borough’s most pressing problems – the critical shortage of affordable housing. The Borough President is committed to identifying creative and innovative answers to this very complex problem.

Despite the current budget crisis, the Borough President is pleased to announce that he is allocating an additional $500,000 in capital funds for the fiscal year 2003 to the Brooklyn Housing Fund. This is in addition to the $2 million that the Borough President announced that he was directing to the Brooklyn Housing Fund at his June 27th Housing Summit. The $2.5 million will lead to the creation of more than 500 units of affordable housing.

"I am delighted that the Brooklyn Housing Fund – a key recommendation of my housing transition committee – will start helping to provide affordable housing for our residents," said the Borough President. "Having a home of your own is something that many Brooklynites have only dreamed about. This initial investment will help make that dream a reality for hundreds of Brooklyn families. But this is just the beginning. Brooklyn is the greatest place in the world to live, and I just want to make sure that people can afford to stay here."

Additionally, these homes will include one or two rental units which will create brand new, quality housing that is affordable to area residents.

Among the neighborhoods receiving these funds is Saratoga Square/Ocean Hill where over 340 units will be built in separate projects by Full Spectrum and by Loewen Development. The Fifth Avenue Committee will construct 47 homes in Red Hook and 14 units of affordable senior housing in Park Slope. 150 homes will be built in Bedford-Stuyvesant in two separate projects by the TNS Development Group, Ltd. and by Delight Construction Corporation. Also in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the Bridge Street AME Church is upgrading 23 apartments. Finally, 47 homes are being built by Brownsville New Foundation Homes in East New York.