10-Story Supportive Housing Coming To East Harlem

EAST HARLEM, NY — After years of planning, a long-vacant lot in East Harlem will soon be transformed into a 10-story supportive housing building, according to city records.

Ascendant Neighborhood Development, an affordable housing builder, filed plans Thursday for the 100-foot-tall building at 242 East 106th St.

The small lot, just west of Second Avenue, sat empty since at least 2009, according to Google Maps imagery.

Plans presented in 2020 to a neighborhood community board said that the building would be run by the Ali Forney Center, the nation's largest organization devoted to LGBTQ homeless youth.

The building will include 5 total apartments, each containing between four and eight private bedrooms, developers said at the time — though the new plans describe only four dwelling units.

It will be designed by Brooklyn-based studio Think! Architecture and Design, whose other projects include supportive housing developments in Lower Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn.

Members of a Community Board 11 committee reacted warmly to the project following a presentation in November 2020.

"I love that East Harlem is the type of place where people feel welcome and would want to live and be supported by members of the community," member Jessica Morris said.

Starting last year, the Ali Forney Center also began leasing a Hamilton Heights townhouse to convert into a home for transgender teenagers.

The East 106th Street project was first presented in 2020 alongside another, unrelated supportive housing development: "Castle III," a 15-story building at 107-111 East 123rd St. for homeless and formerly incarcerated people.

Zoning changes required for that project were approved by the City Council earlier this year.

Related coverage: 2 Supportive Housing Projects Proposed In East Harlem