
NYCHA Housing Connector opens in Brooklyn
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Brooklyn borough officials have announced plans to build a housing connector that would connect more than 10,000 people with affordable housing.
The project, which is named The Housing Connectors Brooklyn, is expected to be open by the end of the year and will have 10 housing units that will provide access to the Brooklyn Housing Connections Program.
The housing connectors Brooklyn will include about 10,400 apartments, said Brooklyn Borough President Ruben Diaz.
The apartments will be designed for the needs of people of all incomes.
In addition to affordable housing, the project will include community-based services for residents of the neighborhood, such as a playground, a gym, library and more.
The project will also include a restaurant, a fitness center and an art gallery.
The development is expected have between 10,500 and 15,000 residents.
Diaz said that while housing in the borough is currently “challenged” by the financial crisis, the affordable housing project will bring the borough up to date with the changing housing needs of the population.
The Housing ConnectORS Brooklyn project will be located on the first floor of the Westchester County Courthouse in Manhattan.
It will have two floors of affordable housing with 10,200 units and will be built on a site that currently houses two public housing projects, the Westin Hotel and the Long Island City Housing Authority.
Duffy said the Housing ConnectOR Brooklyn project was a natural fit for the Brooklyn Borough, which has a large homeless population and has been hit hard by the economic downturn.
“Our goal is to create a place where the community can feel safe, secure and have access to services,” Diaz said.
“It will be a place for families to live, to build and to work,” he added.
“We’ve seen in our past where we’ve been able to make it work with housing in certain areas, but we also see this project as a new model for affordable housing in Brooklyn,” Diaz added.
The Brooklyn Housing Connection program is designed to provide financial assistance to low- and moderate-income families in the city.
Diaz said that the program was launched in 2009 to address the needs in the housing market.
The city has provided about $1.5 billion in grants for affordable rental housing.
The Brooklyn Housing connectors project will offer affordable housing to low and moderate income residents, including those who are eligible for food stamps and Medicaid.
The development will also provide more than 400 parking spaces and will provide community gardens.
The borough will also offer free Wi-Fi for the community.
The site also will include an art studio, fitness center, a library, art gallery and a community center.
The borough is also working with the Brooklyn Community Development Corporation to build new housing units.