East New York, Brooklyn

The East New York Neighborhood Plan, released in 2016, features initiatives led by numerous City agencies to promote affordable housing development, encourage economic development, create pedestrian-friendly streets and invest in community resources to support the long-term growth and sustainability of East New York, Cypress Hills, and Ocean Hill.

The East New York Neighborhood Plan is part of Housing New York, the Mayor's housing plan to build and preserve affordable housing through community development initiatives that foster a more equitable and livable New York City.

Each year, the Mayor's Office of Operations will publish an update on these initiatives that details the status of each commitment made to Council Member Rafael Espinal and the New York City Council.

Process

To develop the Plan, City agencies held numerous workshops, forums, and visioning sessions to hear the needs and priorities of the community. Through this process, community members developed a series of goals for East New York, including opportunities for affordable housing, economic development, and improvements to community resources.

To support this comprehensive approach to neighborhood planning, the City has established an unprecedented Neighborhood Development Fund to supplement its regular Capital Budget. This will ensure that resources are committed to infrastructure investments in neighborhoods where housing capacity is increased. This holistic approach to neighborhood development will allow the City to plan for residential growth and provide needed services such as schools, parks, and transportation improvements to foster thriving communities.

Housing Plan

The East New York Housing Plan summarizes the goals, strategies, and actions that HPD is proposing to undertake in response to a range of needs and priorities articulated by East New York residents. HPD’s Office of Neighborhood Strategies has developed and is continuing to refine this plan in collaboration with community members, elected officials, and partner agencies.

The vision and guiding principles of the Housing Plan are to:

• Support the development of a diverse, livable neighborhood anchored by affordable housing serving a range of incomes
• Preserve the quality and affordability of existing housing, and prevent displacement

Sites

Dinsmore-Chestnut

HPD and HDC announced the designation of the Dinsmore-Chestnut site in East New York, Brooklyn, named Chestnut Commons, that will include 274 apartments that will be affordable for formerly homeless, extremely low-, very low-, and low-income households. The development will be led by a joint venture between MHANY Management, the Urban Builders Collaborative, and the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (CHLDC).

The mixed-use development will also create a number of opportunities through a rich multi-layered set of community-oriented offerings such as programming by ARTS East New York, CUNY Kingsborough Community College, and more. The project is designed to achieve a low carbon footprint by incorporating passive house elements that will reduce operating costs and benefit all residents.

Through extensive collaboration with elected officials, sister agencies, and Brooklyn Community Board 5, HPD hosted a series workshops resulting in the publication of a Community Visioning Report that was used to inform the request for proposals. Chestnut Commons reflects the priorities the community identified in the workshops, such as the inclusion of an arts and cultural center, active recreation facilities, and a food service component, while promoting economic empowerment though education services and a Brooklyn-based credit union.