Gotham Organization has quietly taken the next big step at East New York’s Innovative Urban Village, filing plans to kick off the project’s second phase on the Christian Cultural Center campus. The move comes on the heels of construction starting on the first batch of buildings and a housing lottery opening for hundreds of deeply subsidized apartments. If the city signs off, the filing nudges the long-planned, megachurch-anchored complex closer to delivering more income-restricted homes and fresh community space.
What was filed
As reported by Crain's New York Business, Gotham submitted new building applications for the development’s second phase on the Christian Cultural Center grounds. The paperwork pulls another round of residential and community-facility space into the city’s technical review pipeline. In practical terms, it is a signal that the developers plan to carry the campus buildout beyond the initial structures that are already rising.
By the numbers
The broader Innovative Urban Village plan calls for roughly 1,975 to 2,050 apartments across the Christian Cultural Center’s 10.5-acre site, along with retail, a performing-arts center and open space, according to REBusinessOnline. The first building at 30 Inspiration Lane (formerly 12096 Flatlands Avenue) includes 386 apartments, and Brownstoner reports that a housing lottery opened for 291 of those units. Earlier project summaries indicate that Phase 1B is expected to bring several hundred additional income-restricted rentals as the campus fills in.
Money and timeline
Construction financing for Phase 1B, roughly $314 million, was detailed by New York YIMBY, which notes that Phase 1A is scheduled to wrap in 2026 and Phase 1B in 2027. Public lenders including the NYC Housing Development Corporation and HPD, along with private tax-credit equity, supply the funding stack behind the early stages of the project. That capital is what has allowed vertical construction to get going and now supports filings for the next wave of buildings.
Local context and reaction
The Innovative Urban Village has been years in the making, led by Reverend A. R. Bernard and the Christian Cultural Center, and it cleared the city’s ULURP review before winning City Council approval, coverage shows. Supporters point to the deeply affordable unit mix and the promise of community amenities. At the same time, some nearby residents and transit advocates have raised concerns about capacity and long-term neighborhood change, according to local reporting. Mayor Eric Adams joined the project’s groundbreaking last summer and cast it as part of the city’s broader affordable-housing push, local coverage indicates.
What happens next
The fresh application starts the city’s technical reviews for zoning, environmental cleanup and permitting, which all need to clear before any new building permits are issued. If the previously outlined schedule sticks, residents could begin moving into Phase 1 apartments in 2026 while later phases continue through 2027 and beyond, developers and project filings show. Those following the rollout can keep an eye on Crain's New York Business coverage and the Department of Buildings docket for incremental updates as the second-phase plans move through the system.
