Affordable Apartment Complex Opens In Brooklyn

PROSPECT LEFFERTS GARDENs, NY — A $100 million affordable housing development in Brooklyn opened on Tuesday with more than half of the housing units reserved for homeless families and individuals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office announced.

The new housing development, officially known as CAMBA Gardens Phase II, is the second installment of a new kind of housing partnership that's using unused space on the grounds of the King's County Hospital to provide housing, healthcare and other community resources for low-income New Yorkers.

The new development, located at 560 Winthrop St., has 293 apartments, with 182 of those set aside for people or families who were previously homeless. The housing complex is run by the nonprofit CAMBA.

Local officials, CAMBA executives and other community leaders opened the apartment building on Tuesday with a ceremony and ribbon cutting.

"CAMBA on-site social services staff will work with Kings County Hospital Center to coordinate and streamline medical and mental health care for tenants," Cuomo's office said in a statement. "Social services, which are available to all tenants, include case management, supportive counseling, coordination of health care and education, nutrition and fitness classes, recreational/family activities, and computer training."

The apartment building also includes a community garden for tenants and various community rooms for local groups and community board meetings.

The first installment of this particular housing initiative, CAMBA Gardens Phase I, was completed in 2013 with 502 apartments for low-income residents.

The $100 million project was funded by multiple state sources plus $1 million each from the Brooklyn borough president's office and the New York City Council and another $20.5 million from through the city's Supportive Housing Loan Program.

"Expanding affordable housing across Brooklyn is of the utmost importance, particularly as residents face cost of living increases and rising rents," Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams said in a statement. "I'm proud to have supported CAMBA on this exciting project with $1 million in FY14 capital investment, which will help deliver much-needed, energy-efficient housing to East Flatbush, an area of the borough that has experienced decades of economic disadvantage."

Image credit: Courtesy of CAMBA