NYC's $607M Nostrand Houses Modernization Closes Financing, Benefiting 2,000 Brooklyn Residents

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the Public Housing Preservation Trust and the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) have announced the financial closing of a $607 million comprehensive modernization of Nostrand Houses in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn — the first project to reach financial closing through the Trust. The financing closed September 29. The investment will address decades of capital needs at Nostrand Houses, fully rehabilitating 1,148 apartments and modernizing building systems across 16 residential buildings for approximately 2,000 residents. Renovations include new kitchens and bathrooms, upgraded heating and cooling systems, new elevators, improved accessibility, lead and mold remediation, and upgraded security systems. "For generations, NYCHA residents have been told to wait for the investments their homes deserve. The residents of Nostrand Houses took action: they voted to take a different path, and today that path is delivering," Mamdani said. Governor Kathy Hochul called it a major win for residents, noting the milestone followed legislation intended to unlock additional federal funding for NYCHA renovations. The Trust is designed to let Nostrand Houses access greater and more flexible federal funding than traditional Section 9 housing while keeping the development 100% public with permanently affordable rents and preserved residents' rights; NYCHA continues to manage the property. A paired long-term ground lease unlocks a federal operating subsidy worth approximately twice what NYCHA currently receives for the development. The Trust was created by legislation sponsored by State Senator Julia Salazar and then-Assembly Member Steven Cymbrowitz, signed into law by Hochul in June 2022. Financing and labor partners include the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the NYC Office of Management and Budget, HDC, Merchants Capital, Nixon Peabody and the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, with the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York as labor partner. The modernization goes beyond individual apartments: every kitchen and bathroom will be renovated down to the wall structure with new appliances, quartz countertops, durable scratch-resistant flooring, energy-efficient double-pane windows and new intercom systems; 81 apartments will be upgraded for residents with mobility needs and 48 for those with visual or hearing impairments; expanded CCTV coverage and an on-site security guard are included. The Trust is also partnering with NYC Kids RISE on a community scholarship, contributing $100 annually to accounts of children living in Nostrand Houses through high school graduation.