Mayor Eric Adams helps cut the ribbon on the new Nevins Street Apartments, developed by the Institute of Community Living. Image Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office.
On May 9, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams celebrated the completion of Nevins Street Apartments, located at 50 Nevins Street between Schermerhorn Street and State Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
The Nevins Street Apartments complex includes a renovated century-old building, and a new adjacent ten-story building, which share a common core. The original building was constructed in 1912 as a YWCA residential facility for single women. The developer, Institute for Community Living, has operated in the former YWCA building for over 30 years as a Office of Mental Health-licensed transitional housing facility.
The Nevins Street Apartments will have 129 affordable units. Seventy-eight units will be reserved for individuals formerly experiencing homelessness, young adults, veterans, and individuals recovering from substance abuse disorders. The remaining units will be open to households earning at or below 60 percent area median income.
Residents can receive onsite support services from the Institute of Community Living, including counseling, parenting and life skills, health education, social and recreational services, connections to community services, and family reunification and stabilization services.
The new building has amenities including laundry facilities, a community room, fitness rooms, a classroom, and 24/7 front desk security. Ground floor retail space will operate on the Schermerhorn Street side of the building, adding to the local commercial corridor.
The project cost $72 million. In his role as the former Brooklyn Borough President, Mayor Adams committed $500,000 in discretionary funding in Fiscal Year 2021 to the Nevins Street Apartments project. The project is also supported through $13.6 million in tax-exempt bonds, $27.3 million in equity through federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, $1.9 million from the New York State Office of Mental Health for rental assistance and supportive services, and $10.6 million from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development Supportive Housing Loan Program.
The completion of the Nevins Street Apartments follows the Governor’s new five-year $25 billion comprehensive housing plan that aims to build or preserve 100,000 affordable homes across New York State.
Governor Hochul stated, “In the wake of the pandemic, it is critical that we take bold action to make New York a more affordable place for all, and that is why my administration launched a comprehensive $25 billion affordable housing plan to help ensure every New Yorker has access to safe, affordable housing. New York is committed to tackling the housing crisis with transformative projects like Nevins Street Apartments that drive neighborhood revitalization and provide New Yorkers with the support and stability they need to thrive.”
Mayor Adams stated, “We need to solve the crisis of homelessness with the crisis of housing, and I am proud to have supported a project as borough president and now as mayor that helps us do exactly that. This project represents exactly what we need more of in New York City: collaboration between city and state to provide affordable homes for families in shelters, New Yorkers struggling with mental health challenges, or veterans who have served our country bravely and need a place to call home.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)