Day: May 7, 2025

A city-owned parking lot in Boerum Hill will become permanently affordable rent-stabilized senior housing, a much-needed rarity in the area.

The lot, located at 108-114 3rd Ave. between Bergen and Wyckoff streets, will be developed with 68 units. The new mixed-use building, dubbed the Third Act Apartments, will also include commercial and community spaces.

The city announced the development team late last month. Selected through a request for proposals process and after community engagement, it includes Cornerstone Construction Group, nonprofit developer and service provider St. Nicks Alliance, and Stanton Street Development Partners. David Cunningham Architecture Planning PLLC will lead the project’s architectural design. The community engagement and RFP process also included a second adjacent city-owned site to be developed at 153 Nevins St., but plans for that site have not yet been released.

“This administration is committed to transforming underutilized city-owned land into safe, secure, affordable housing,“ said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrión Jr., in a statement. “The Third Act Apartments will provide 68 older adults the ability to age in place comfortably and affordably with high-end amenities and services.”

The plan for the Third Act Apartments was developed with guidance from the Nevins and Third Community Visioning Report, the goals outlined in the RFP, and input from over 200 community members, local elected officials, and organizations, according to the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Locals called for new housing for seniors and formerly homeless individuals, as well as for sustainable, resilient design and outdoor spaces that foster neighborhood connections. In addition to residential units, the project will include approximately 1,700 square feet of commercial retail space —including a pharmacy — and 1,000 square feet of community facility space. The building’s first floor will feature a community room available to residents and local organizations, a resident library, game room, fitness center, bicycle storage room, laundry services, and generous outdoor spaces. The building is set to be topped with a rooftop urban farm and a courtyard with access to a second-floor terrace and garden.

About 10% of the population of Community District 2 — which includes Boerum Hill — is over the age of 65, according to city data, and though precise housing statistics for seniors in the neighborhood are not available, studies have shown that the number of homeless people over age 65 in New York City rose by more than 300% from 2004 to 2017. Statewide, rates of housing insecurity among seniors are particularly high, according to a 2024 report from the state Comptroller, in part because seniors are more likely to be retired on living on a fixed income. 

“As rising costs and a historically low vacancy rate push seniors even further towards housing insecurity, leveraging city land for housing isn’t just practical—it’s a moral imperative. This project is about more than a physical structure; it’s about ensuring older New Yorkers can age with dignity in the city they helped build,” said HPD acting commissioner Ahmed Tigani, in a statement. “As we move to the next phase to convert parking spaces into 68 deeply affordable apartments for older New Yorkers, HPD remains committed to fostering strong partnerships to meet the demand. We’ve chosen a team committed to creating housing that aligns with the community’s needs and aspirations.” 

In 2023, the city announced similar plans to build affordable senior housing at a city-owned parking lot in Prospect Heights. 

The site at 108-114 3rd Ave. is made up of four separate lots between a Shell service station and a medical office, which sits on the corner of Wyckoff Street. Tax photos from the 1940s and 1980s show a history similar to that of the Nevins Street lot, with the sites containing a row of houses in the 1940s that had been razed by the 1980s and replaced by parking. The city gained ownership of the sites in the 1970s, according to PropertyShark.

City records show HPD still owns the four 3rd Avenue lots, and so far no building permits have been applied for.

A version of this story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site Brownstoner.

At a time when efforts to erase identities from classrooms, library shelves, and our websites have become commonplace, we say no. Not in New York City.  

Imagine being one of the over four hundred thousand students in New York City schools today who identify as Latine. You would see headlines that presume you to be a criminal, threaten to deport you and your family, and tell you that you don’t belong. We have a responsibility to address such unconscionable assaults on basic human dignity, especially in the classroom.  

That is why in 2024 the City Council took a historic first step towards incorporating Latinidad culture and history into NYC schools by funding the development of a new Latine Studies educational framework. This work will benefit both the 40% of students who identify as Latine as well as their six hundred thousand peers. Studies show that when students see themselves and their peers in their studies there is an increase in student achievement and better peer relationships. 

This year the investment by the City Council will be used to engage our communities to better understand what they believe should be included in this curriculum. Ensuring their success includes getting everyone in their community onboard. 

Thanks to the support of New York City Council, United Way of New York City, the Hispanic Federation, and the Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Advanced Study at Teachers College, Columbia University are proud to embark on an effort to create a community-infused curriculum.  

We know that approximately eleven thousand 12th grade students do not graduate high school in New York City in four years. There is no mystery about how to help them. Research is clear that one of the key interventions is to provide culturally responsive curricula and to upskill teachers in its classroom use.  

High-quality, culturally responsive curricular resources are not a solution for all of the problems, but they are a precondition for systemic change.  

Teachers will also benefit from this effort. When teachers are given the resources they need to meet their students’ needs, they not only teach better but they stay in the classroom longer.  

Teacher retention is a major issue in NYC. Nearly ten percent of the city’s 75,000 teachers leave the system every year, costing the system nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. If we do more to help teachers meet their students’ needs we will see more teachers spending their entire careers in our schools. 

But there is another piece of the puzzle: You.  

Starting this spring, we will hold town hall meetings throughout NYC to gather community and academic input. 

We will be talking to parents, students, educators, and educational experts to share our plans, get their feedback and build consensus together. You can learn more about this effort and complete our survey at unitedway.nyc/latine-studies.   

Learning from our local communities is only one step in the process, so we are excited to continue partnering with the New York City Council and hope to earn its support to fund the completion of the curriculum program. 

With your help, we can ensure that at a moment in history when the Latine community is under threat of erasure, New York will respond by elevating Latinidad.  

One voice, one lesson, and one life at a time. Vamos a aprender!

Grace Bonilla is president and CEO of United Way of New York City; Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez represents District 34, which includes Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Ridgewood; Council Member Alexa Avilés represents District 38, which covers Sunset Park and Red Hook; and Council Member Oswald Feliz represents District 15, which includes Belmont, Fordham, and surrounding neighborhoods in the Bronx.