Affordable Buildings To Rise On 4 Vacant East New York Lots: City

EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN — Four vacant lots in East New York will soon see new residential buildings rise under a plan to bring more affordable housing to the neighborhood, according to city officials.

The new affordable housing complexes will be built by The Department of Housing Preservation and Development on city-owned lots found on Glenmore, Pitkin, Dumont and Blake avenues, according to a presentation with the City Planning Commission this week.

They will bring a total of 46 affordable apartments to the neighborhood, according to the presentation.

Two of the buildings — at 496 Glenmore Ave. and 2358 Pitkin Ave. — were made possible by new zoning rules brought by the East New York rezoning, which sought to bring more affordable housing and economic development to 190 blocks spanning East New York, Cypress Hills and Ocean Hill, according to officials and reports.

The rezoning, passed in 2016, promised 1,300 units of affordable housing. Only around 100 of those units had opened to tenants as of 2021, according to a Gothamist analysis.

In the four newly-proposed buildings, city officials will transfer the properties to developers with the the Mutual Housing Association of New York and Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, officials said.

Affordability details were only given about one of the four buildings, where officials said affordable units will go to those making 60 percent of the area median income, or $50,160 for a single applicant.

Here's a look at details for each of the four new projects:

496 Glenmore Ave.

• 5,000 square-foot vacant city-owned lot
• Will bring: Six dwelling units in three-story building

2358 Pitkin Ave.

• 5,400 square-foot vacant city-owned lot
• Will bring: Eight story building with 26 residential units and 1,800 square feet of commercial space space.

943 Dumont Ave.

• 5,400 square-foot vacant city-owned lot
• Will bring: Three story building with six rental units.

793 Blake Ave.

• 4,000 square-foot vacant city-owned lot
• Will bring: Four story building with eight units.