Brooklyn-based nonprofit, CAMBA Housing Ventures (CHV), provided an update on the status of its 323-unit housing development, located on 202nd and 203rd Streets in Bedford Park, during the October meeting of Bronx Community Board 7’s (CB7) Housing, Land Use & Economic Development committee.

 

Construction of the project is 70 percent complete and is expected to be ready for occupancy in the first quarter of 2023, according to CHV. The development comprises two buildings, one on 202nd Street, between Briggs Avenue and Valentine Avenue, made up of 163 housing units, and a second on 203rd Street, also between Briggs Avenue and Valentine Avenue, which will hold 160 units. Of the total 323 units, 25 percent will be made up of studios and 75 percent will comprise family units.

 

A sign for Manhattan-based Bolivar Development & Builders was seen outside the CAMBA-run construction site on 203^rd Street on Oct. 18, raising the question of whether local Bronx hires were ever considered for the job. Norwood News later asked CHV for a comment in this regard. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

In terms of eventual occupancy, Francesca Brown, CHV project manager, said during the meeting, “We want to open up this opportunity to as many Community Board 7 members as possible.” She added, “We want to make sure everyone in the neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods know about this project first.”

 

The units are all rent stabilized. According to the NYC Rent Guidelines Board, this means tenants are protected from sharp increases in rent and have the right to renew their leases. Housing is considered “affordable” if it costs about one-third or less of what the people living in that area earn. Both income eligibility and rent for City-financed affordable housing projects are based on a measure called Area Median Income (AMI).

 

The AMI for all cities across the country is defined each year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The 2022 AMI for the New York City region is $120,100 for a three-person family (100 percent AMI).

 

Sixty percent of units at the CAMBA development have been set aside for formerly homeless families who currently reside in shelters run by NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS). As for the rest, 10 percent will go to residents at 30 percent of the area mean income (AMI).

 

Another 10 percent will go to those at 40 percent of the AMI, and an additional 10 percent will go to those at 50 percent of the AMI. Meanwhile, those at 70 percent of the AMI will get 5 percent of the available units, as will those at 80 percent of the AMI.

“People can come at 30, 40, or 50 percent AMI, and as their job opportunities grow, their rent remains the same,” said Sandra Erickson, a CB7 board member, owner of Sandra Erickson Real Estate, Inc and vice-president of Bronx Chamber of Commerce. “It is very, very stable housing,” she added.

 

According to CHV, the buildings will have several amenities that include 24/7 front desk security, an on-site laundry room, a computer room, six parking spaces for tenants, a rear yard for recreation, a community kitchen, and indoor bicycle parking.

 

“We look forward to seeing it completed and get back the parking and the streets not being obstructed,” said a smiling Erick Ascensio, chair of the CB7 housing committee. “I’m sure the community will be very happy about that.”

 

A housing lottery for units in the development is expected to launch sometime in late October or early November according to CHV, and “NYC Housing Connect” tutorials will be made available via Zoom for those who need help applying.

 

NYC Housing Connect is NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) online portal which provides information on its various open housing lotteries. New Yorkers can usually apply either online, via the portal, or by requesting a mail-in application.

 

One concern raised by Yahaira Arias, secretary of CB7, was the limited number of languages through which training on the Housing Connect portal would be available.

 

“If we’re going to have these trainings, I believe it would be prudent to have them in other languages because we’re having an influx of people moving into our community and some of them don’t know what they are getting themselves into because of the language barrier,” she said.

 

A representative from HPD, present during the meeting, responded, saying the language point was something they were currently working on. Brown also said that as the project advances from the construction phase to a permanent phase, CHV will have job offerings for permanent positions within the complex.

 

“We will have job offerings for maintenance, for social services positions, and security,” she said. “There will be a wide array of opportunities that will be available, and once those opportunities are posted, we will share the information with CB7.”

 

According to a CHV press release, there were no major issues to report in terms of progress on the Bedford Park development, and graffiti, litter, and animal waste were being cleaned off the sidewalks and property on a daily basis.

After discussion on the CHV development concluded, the meeting continued with a discourse on capital budget items for 2023. Ascensio said among those items were requests for housing developments in the district using “Open Door Program” financing to provide residents with more ownership opportunities.

 

The open door program funds the new construction of cooperative and condominium buildings affordable to moderate and middle-income households. The chair said HPD were trying to accommodate the request “by using existing resources.”

 

Other requests included the expansion of housing inspections to correct various building code violations, improving public housing cleanliness and maintenance, and providing or enhancing rental subsidies programs.

 

“HPD in your District” is an ongoing initiative by HPD whereby department officials visit local communities around the City in mobile units, providing outreach to residents to assist with ongoing housing related issues. Once advised of any upcoming visits by the mobile unit to the local area, which are usually arranged in conjunction with local city council members, Norwood News usually includes details of the scheduled dates in our Neighborhood Notes feature. District 11 City Councilman Eric Dinowitz held one such event earlier this summer.

 

Our Neighborhood Notes features also include links to affordable housing lotteries posted on NYC Housing Connect.

 

The next CB7 housing committee meeting is scheduled for Nov.7, with Ascencio saying it will focus more on small businesses. For more information on the CHV housing developments, visit https://camba.org/programs/supportive-housing-projects/.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.