New affordable housing complex opens as city invests in shorefront community

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Mayor Bill de Blasio joined Councilmember Donovan Richards (third from right) to cut the ribbon on a new affordable housing development in Edgemere on Wednesday. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office.

Mayor Bill de Blasio joined Councilmember Donovan Richards (third from right) to cut the ribbon on a new affordable housing development in Edgemere on Wednesday. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office.

By David Brand

A 100-percent affordable complex opened in Edgemere Wednesday, the latest step in an effort to redevelop and restore the shorefront community while ensuring long-time residents remain in place.

Mayor Bill de Blasio joined local State Sen. James Sanders and Councilmember Donovan Richards at the grand opening of the building, known as Beach Green Dunes II, which features 127 affordable units, including 13 for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. 

“I know New Yorkers feel as if they are losing their grip on this city and fear their children will no longer be able to afford to call New York home,” de Blasio said. “We are changing that reality, and [we] will be in the corner of every family fighting for neighborhoods they can afford.”

A total of 50 units will be set aside for households earning less than $50,000 per year.  The 13 units set aside for homeless New Yorkers represent about 10 percent of the total apartments in the building. A bill passed by the City Council in December 2019 will force developers that receive city funding to set aside 15 percent of units for homeless New Yorkers.

The city’s 2015 Resilient Edgemere Community Plan outlined the need for affordable housing, retail expansion and infrastructure improvement in the region. A report by City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s found that Edgemere’s poverty rate is almost double the citywide average, with a significantly lower rate of job growth. 

Another large-scale development plan, championed by Richards and local developers, has also commenced despite some criticism from skeptical residents who fear gentrification and displacement. 

In an op-ed for the Eagle, Richards hailed the project, known as Edgemere Commons. 

The development, he wrote, “will become the largest, affordable housing development led by a private applicant advanced under the de Blasio administration, delivering 2,050 units of affordable housing to the people of Edgemere. Providing critically needed new housing for a community that is too short on affordable options.”

“The future of Edgemere is bright,” Richards added. “But more work has to be done.”