Based on years of resident-driven engagement, NYCHA, with its resident-selected PACT partner, Elliott Fulton LLC (a joint venture between Essence Development and The Related Companies), plan to re-develop new apartment buildings for all existing NYCHA residents at Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses while preserving permanent affordability and residents’ rights under the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program. The plan will also provide additional affordable and market-rate housing, as well as expanded community facilities, retail, and open space for the benefit of NYCHA residents and the surrounding Chelsea community.
Learn more about PACT by visiting the PACT Page.
NYCHA and the PACT partner will continue to work with residents, the local community, and elected officials to refine the plans for the designs of the new buildings, social services, property management and security, employment, and other important factors.
For current information on the project and its planning, visit the Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea PACT Partner page.
This page will be used primarily for the environmental review process. For information on that process, including the timeline and relevant documents, see below.
The Proposed Project
The New York City Housing Authority ("NYCHA"), in coordination with the PACT partner, contemplates the following Proposed Project:
The purpose of the Proposed Project is to improve the quality of housing for residents of the Project Sites by constructing new housing for all existing residents while preserving permanent affordability and preserving residents’ rights under the PACT program. The Proposed Project will also provide additional affordable and market-rate housing units, as well as expanded community facility, retail, and open space for the benefit of NYCHA residents and the surrounding Chelsea community.
PACT is a program that allows NYCHA to unlock funding to complete comprehensive repairs or build new, modern homes at NYCHA properties. Through PACT, developments are included in the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and transition to a more stable, federally funded program called Project-Based Section 8. PACT ensures that homes remain permanently affordable and resident rights are fully preserved.
About the Environmental Review
To facilitate the redevelopment of Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea, the impacts to the human, built, and natural environment in the area are being analyzed through a National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”). The environmental review process under NEPA provides an opportunity for the public to be involved in the agency analysis process. It helps the public understand what is being proposed, and provides the public the opportunity to comment on the analysis of the environmental effects of the Proposed Project and possible mitigation. The EIS is being undertaken by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”), as lead federal agency and Responsible Entity on behalf of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). NYCHA is serving as project sponsor and joint-lead agency for the environmental review alongside HPD. Because the Proposed Project has identified approvals and involvement from federal, state, and city agencies, HPD, in coordination with NYCHA, is preparing an EIS to fulfill the environmental review requirements of NEPA, and as appropriate, technical analysis areas outlined in the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”) and City Environmental Quality Review ("CEQR").
An EIS is prepared in a series of steps:
Decisions are not made in an EIS; rather, the EIS analysis is one of several factors decisionmakers consider. The conclusions of the EIS and the decision of how the Proposed Project would be developed to minimize community and environmental impact is announced in the Record of Decision ("ROD") after the final EIS has been published.
Learn more about NEPA here:
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Orientation to Environmental Review
The environmental review process:
On January 8, 2024, a Notice of Intent ("NOI") to Prepare the EIS for the Proposed Project was published in the Federal Register, kicking off the EIS scoping Process.
Notice of Intent: English | Español | 繁體 / 简体 | Русский
Draft Scope of Work ("DSOW"): English | Español | 繁體 / 简体 | Русский
Scoping
What is scoping?
Scoping is a public process to determine the issues that that will be analyzed in the EIS. As part of Scoping, HPD and NYCHA, as joint lead agencies, engaged federal, state, local and tribal governments and agencies, and the public, in the early identification of concerns, potential impacts, and possible alternatives to the Proposed Project. As part of scoping, the lead agencies determined the scope and the significant issues to be analyzed in the EIS for the Proposed Project and eliminated non-significant issues from further study.
First, a Draft Scope of Work (“DSOW”) was issued and reviewed by federal, state, local and tribal governments as well as the public. This DSOW described the Proposed Project with sufficient detail to allow the public and interested and involved agencies to understand the potential environmental issues. For each technical analysis area, the DSOW identified the proposed study areas, types of data to be gathered, and how this data would be analyzed (including the preferred method of analysis). The DSOW also identified reasonable alternatives to the project for evaluation.
After the DSOW was issued, several public scoping meetings were held to provide opportunity for input from the residents, government agencies, tribes, and other members of the public. The comment period on the DSOW ran from the date the Notice of Intent to Prepare the EIS was published in the Federal Register and other local newspapers until the comment period closed: January 8, 2025 to March 8, 2025. Comments received during the comment period, whether in writing or in person at the public scoping meeting, were be considered by the lead agencies in the preparation of a final scope of work ("FSOW").
Draft Scope of Work ("DSOW"): English | Español | 繁體 / 简体 | Русский
The FSOW was released on March 28, 2025 and can be viewed below:
FEC Scoping Meeting (Fulton) 02012024 February 1, 2024
FEC Scoping Meeting (Zoom) February 5, 2024
FEC Scoping Meeting (Elliott-Chelsea) February 7, 2024
Sources:
Code of Federal Regulations Section 1501.9
CEQR Technical Manual :
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) looks at both short-term and long-term effects of a proposed project and considers possible measures to reduce or mitigate those effects. An EIS provides public officials with relevant information and allows them to take a "hard look" at the potential environmental consequences of each proposed project.
Agencies prepare environmental impact statements in two stages, Draft and Final. First, agencies prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (“DEIS”) in accordance with the scope decided upon in the scoping process. The DEIS is a “draft” to indicate that the report is subject to modification in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (“FEIS”), but it is a comprehensive document sufficient to allow the public an opportunity to comment on the potential for significant adverse environmental impacts. The DEIS fully describes the proposed project and the background; purpose; public need and benefits, including social and economic considerations; approvals required; and the role of the EIS in the approval process. The lead agency(-ies) work with the cooperating and involved agencies and obtain comments as required.
The contents of a DEIS include:
On March 28, 2025, NYCHA, HPD, and the PACT partner team released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the redevelopment project.
View the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS): English | Español | 繁體 | 简体 | Русский
View the Notice of Availability: English | Español | 繁體 |简体 | Русский
View the Early Floodplain Notice: English | Español | 繁體 / 简体 | Русский
The 45-day public comment period lasted from March 28, 2025, through May 19, 2025, with public comments on the DEIS submitted by mail, email, or verbally at three public hearings, listed below:
DEIS Public Hearing (Fulton Senior Center), April 23, 2025
DEIS Public Hearing (Elliott-Chelsea Community Center), April 24, 2025
DEIS Public Hearing (Virtually on Zoom), May 8, 2025: View Recording
View the DEIS Public Hearing Presentation Deck: English | Español | 繁體 / 简体 | Русский
June 2025 Update: Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision
On June 27, 2025, HPD and NYCHA released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (“FEIS”). This follows the March 28, 2025, issuance of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), DEIS public hearings, and DEIS comment period that remained open through May 19, 2025. The FEIS includes the contents of the DEIS, along with a summary of the comments received verbally at the public hearing or in writing during the DEIS public comment period, as well as responses to those comments. Changes to the document text and graphics were made between DEIS and FEIS, as necessary, in response to these comments.
The FEIS includes any measures to minimize identified significant adverse environmental impacts to the greatest extent practicable.Since HPD and NYCHA verified that the FEIS was complete, a Notice of Availability was published in the Federal Register on June 27, 2025. View the FEIS and related notices below:
Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
Federal agencies may not make or issue a Record of Decision (“ROD”) for the proposed project until the later of the following dates:At the time of decision, the lead agency or agencies prepare and publish a concise joint Record of Decision/Findings Statement which ends the environmental review process and certifies that the agencies have considered all alternatives, information, analyses, and objections submitted by State, Tribal, and local governments and public commenters in developing the EIS.
Sources:
Code of Federal Regulations Section 1502.9
Code of Federal Regulations Section 1505.2.
Resources
012224 FEC Resident Pamphlet (English | Español | Русский | 中文 (繁體/ | 简体).
The Working Group Final Report (English | Español | Русский | 中文 (繁體/ | 简体).
The Working Group Summary Booklet English | Español | 中文 (繁體/ | 简体) | Русский
The press release announcing the selection of the PACT Partner
The press release announcing the plans for the complete rebuilding of Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea
Update Newsletters from NYCHA
Resident Survey
In February 2023, resident association leadership from Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses met with city, state, and federal elected officials, local stakeholders, NYCHA leadership, and principals from Essence Development and Related Companies (“PACT Partner”) to express their desire to commence a robust resident engagement process at the two campuses to explore resident interest in rebuilding all 2,056 apartments. The resident association leadership requested that NYCHA and the PACT Partner work with them to design the engagement process and a strategy for gauging resident preferences for rebuilding or rehabilitation.
Over a 60-day period beginning in March 2023, with the support of resident association leaders, NYCHA and the PACT Partner hosted 35 scheduled town hall sessions in multiple languages; canvassed thousands of residents across both campuses; provided weekly Saturday tours of new affordable construction developments at Hunter’s Point South and Roosevelt Island; and distributed information packets to every apartment. In addition to the 35 scheduled town hall meetings, smaller groups of residents requested meetings with NYCHA and the PACT Partners to ask additional questions.
NYCHA and the PACT Partner surveyed residents of Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses to understand whether they preferred to move forward with the rehabilitation of the existing buildings, as originally planned, or proceed with a new proposal that would replace all existing buildings through new construction. Residents 18 years of age and older on leases could indicate their preference using either an online or paper survey.
The survey, town halls, and tours were all designed to function as an integrated program. Residents were encouraged to attend a town hall session – during which all aspects of demolition, rebuilding, relocation, and rehabilitation were discussed – before completing the survey. The survey was intended to serve as an engagement tool that would inform the direction of the project and future community engagement processes.
To support the integrity of the process, the Citizens Housing & Planning Council (CHPC) served as an independent third party that reviewed and tabulated the survey results. CHPC received all online and paper surveys, verified resident eligibility, performed QA functions, and summarized the results, which are presented in the tables below.
Based on CHPC’s analysis, 969 residents participated in the survey, which represents approximately 29% of the total eligible population across both campuses. Approximately 37% of all households had at least one individual who submitted a survey response. Of those residents who submitted a response, 57% indicated a preference for new construction/full replacement of existing units.
Survey Process and Results Presentation
Overall Survey Participation |
Surveys Received |
Total surveys submitted |
1,183 |
Total surveys submitted from verified residents* |
1,157 |
Total surveys submitted from verified residents with duplicates resolved** |
969 |
* Verified residents must be at least 18 years old and an authorized household member |
|
** Duplicate and conflicting responses were removed from this count. When one individual submitted multiple matching responses, one was counted. When one individual submitted multiple conflicting responses, none were counted. |
Development |
Number of Leased Residents (over 18) |
Total Surveys Submitted |
Survey Participation (as % of Eligible Residents) |
Total Households |
Households with ≥ 1 Survey Submitted |
Survey Participation (as % of of Total Households) |
Fulton |
1,621 |
476 |
29% |
911 |
329 |
36% |
Elliott-Chelsea |
1,767 |
493 |
28% |
1,053 |
396 |
38% |
Total |
3,388 |
969 |
29% |
1,964 |
725 |
37% |
Survey Option Selected |
Surveys Submitted |
% of Total |
Fulton Houses |
476 |
100% |
Rehabilitation of existing units |
182 |
38% |
New construction/full replacement of existing units |
294 |
62% |
Elliott-Chelsea Houses |
493 |
100% |
Rehabilitation of existing units |
237 |
48% |
New construction/full replacement of existing units |
256 |
52% |
Total Combined |
969 |
100% |
Rehabilitation of existing units |
419 |
43% |
New construction/full replacement of existing units |
550 |
57% |
Resident Notices
PACT Hotline: 212-306-4036
Email us: PACT@nycha.nyc.gov
For updates on the Fulton & Elliott-Chelsea PACT project, please visit the Fulton & Elliott-Chelsea PACT Partners website.