First 385 affordable homes open at East New York's Innovative Urban Village, with 453 more on the way

The first apartments are open at Innovative Urban Village, a large affordable housing development rising on the Christian Cultural Center's campus in East New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani cut the ribbon Thursday on the project's first phase and marked the topping out of the second, according to the Mayor's Office and the Governor's Office.

The state says the first phase has 385 permanently affordable homes; the city's announcement puts the count at 386. The complex sits at the corner of Flatlands and Pennsylvania avenues, under the new address 30 Inspiration Lane, News 12 reported.

Who the homes are for

Hochul said 94 of the first-phase homes are reserved for households that have struggled with homelessness, and that the state contributed $190 million to the phase. Sen. Chuck Schumer said federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits will generate $115 million for it, and that the development includes apartments for survivors of domestic violence. News 12 said New Yorkers interested in applying can find information through its report.

What comes next

• Phase 1B: 453 affordable homes and a child care facility, now topped out. Developers told News 12 the units and a 24/7 daycare are expected to open in the spring.
• Phase 2: plans filed in June call for 599 permanently affordable homes across three buildings, including 206 senior apartments, plus a community facility, retail and the development's central public quad, according to the Mayor's Office. News 12 said senior units and the quad are expected by next winter.
• Full build-out: nearly 2,000 permanently affordable homes in 10 buildings, with a performing arts center, workforce programs, neighborhood retail and about three acres of publicly accessible open space, the city says. News 12 reported construction is expected to take about 10 years.

The buildings are designed by PAU and SLCE Architects and use all-electric heating and cooling, solar panels and green roofs, the city said. The Christian Cultural Center picked Gotham Organization as its development partner in 2018, and the project won land-use approval in 2022. Monadnock Development is also a partner.

"We can sustain that vision of a New York where people do not just have to make something of themselves and leave their neighborhood as a result of it," Mamdani said at the ceremony, according to News 12. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who represents the area, said the project "brings the best to East New York."