Brooklyn, NY – Representative Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), the House Democratic Leader, announced $1,400,000 in federal funding that he secured through the government funding bill for the Interboro Community Land Trust (Interboro CLT).

The funding will be used to build and rehabilitate multifamily buildings that will become part of the Interboro CLT and lead to the creation of up to 100 permanently affordable co-op units for households earning 50-80% of the Area Median Income in the East New York and Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhoods.

Interboro CLT’s mission is to support New Yorkers and strengthen communities through the development and stewardship of permanently affordable homes for ownership by low- and moderate-income households across the five boroughs of NYC.

“It was my honor to secure $1.4 million for the Interboro Community Land Trust to fund their critical mission of bringing affordable home ownership to life,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08). “It’s important for us to fight to protect public health, public education and public safety, but none of it matters if people are pushed out of the only neighborhoods that they’ve ever called home. That’s why there’s nothing more transformative than the incredible work that the Interboro Community Land Trust does to make sure that the gentrification steamroller does not continue to roll over the people of New York’s Eighth Congressional District. I look forward to continuing to support their efforts and fighting for comprehensive solutions to the housing affordability crisis.”

“We are grateful to Leader Jeffries for his leadership and investment, and are excited to work with him on the development of housing that will help create stability for Brooklynites for generations to come,” said Christie Peale, Executive Director/CEO, Center for New York City Neighborhoods. “Interboro is a crucial component of a set of housing solutions that will support permanent affordability, maintain equity, and ensure that working and low-to-moderate income families in our community can remain here.”

“MHANY is a proud founding and participating member of the Interboro Community Land Trust,” said Ismene Speliotis, Executive Director, Mutual Housing Association of New York. “MHANY’s goal in formation and participation of the community land trust was to develop a balance between truly affordable home ownership opportunities in perpetuity and individual/family wealth building over time.  The land trust model imposes limits on sales and incomes of purchasers, provides support for owners on the land trust and protects homeowners from the extreme ups and downs of the private speculative marketplace. Homeowners are protected from swings in the market place through the ground lease/land trust model.”

“We are deeply grateful to Congressman Hakeem Jeffries for this significant investment in the pathway to permanently affordable homeownership,” said Sabrina Lippman, CEO, Habitat for Humanity NYC and Westchester County. “The $1.4 million Community Project Funding award will help support our Mosaic project, a scattered site development consisting of 42 affordable housing cooperative units. This funding will help provide Brooklyn families with the opportunity for stability, long-term affordability and the equity-building power of homeownership. Congressman Jeffries continues to be a staunch champion of decent, affordable housing that helps foster sustainable New York City communities.”

“UHAB is excited to celebrate this investment in Interboro CLT, including one of UHAB’s projects in the Eighth Congressional District,” said Margy Brown, Executive Director for UHAB. “We’d like to thank Democratic Leader Jeffries for this essential contribution to our work, and for his unwavering support of affordable homeownership. Among the significant impact this funding will bring, it will help the 17 households at 25 MacDonough St become cooperative homeowners, and help to rehabilitate and electrify their building so their homes remain stable, affordable and sustainable in the long term.”

“We’re very grateful for Rep. Jeffries’ unwavering commitment to funding crucial community projects such as those in Interboro’s pipeline,” said John Edward Dallas, Director, Interboro CLT Director. “His generous $1.4 million award will support the development of up to 100 housing units that not only will be affordable permanently to low-income households, but also prioritize community control and asset building, amid growing rental serfdom and unbridled wealth extraction throughout Brooklyn.”

Interboro Community Land Trust is a collaboration between the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester County, the Mutual Housing Association of New York (MHANY) and the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB). It is the first and only citywide community land trust in New York City.

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