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Mamdani Designates East Village NYPD Lot for 131‑Unit Affordable Housing Project

The mayor’s office picked a nonprofit-led team to steward permanently affordable homes on public land as a test of his plan to unlock city sites for community-controlled housing.

Overview

  • HPD announced Monday that a team led by Spatial Equity, Housing Works, Cooper Square Committee and This Land Is Ours Community Land Trust was chosen to develop The Aurea at 324 East 5th Street.
  • The project is planned for about 131 affordable units with 30% set aside for formerly homeless New Yorkers and on-site support services delivered by Housing Works.
  • Design plans from SLCE Architects call for a senior center, community space, landscaped terraces, green roofs and all-electric systems aimed at Passive House performance.
  • City officials said replacement parking will be provided inside the new building, a detail that some coverage highlighted as controversial because the current lot houses dozens of NYPD vehicles.
  • The selection is the first city-owned land award of Mamdani’s administration and follows the 2021 Soho/Noho rezoning and the LIFT task force effort to convert public sites into long-term affordable housing.