Fifty-seven affordable apartments spread across four Bedford-Stuyvesant buildings have officially changed hands, landing under the ownership of a Brooklyn nonprofit after New York Attorney General Letitia James's office intervened to stop what her office says was an improper sale attempt by the buildings' previous landlord. The properties at 201 Pulaski Street, 709 Lafayette Avenue, 327 Franklin Avenue and 335 Franklin Avenue have been transferred to IMPACCT Brooklyn, which will now manage and rehabilitate them.
James announced the preservation on Wednesday, saying, according to the seed post from NY AG James
, that her office, IMPACCT Brooklyn, New York State Homes and Community Renewal, and the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development had “successfully protected 57 affordable housing units in Bed-Stuy.” The buildings had previously been owned by Food First HDFC Inc., which attempted to sell them to a commercial purchaser to resolve its debts, according to the announcement. The Legal Aid Society notified the attorney general's office in April 2024 that Food First planned to auction the buildings without the approval of government agencies or purchasers, and involved agencies subsequently informed Food First that the sale could not proceed, per the announcement.
A Landlord Under Fire Before the Deal
The intervention followed months of documented trouble at one of the four buildings. At 201 Pulaski Street, six of the nine tenants filed what's known as a 7A petition in housing court in 2024, asking a judge to appoint an administrator to take over the property, according to City & State New York. The petition alleged vermin infestations, persistent roof leaks, inadequate heat and inadequate janitorial services inside the building, whose nine rent-stabilized units were owned by Alfred Thompson, Food First's head officer, the outlet reported.
At the time, the building carried 166 outstanding violations, along with an outstanding tax bill of $91,580.05 and $17,205.75 in outstanding charges owed to the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development, City & State New York reported. Frustration had been building for a while: some tenants, including one named Cheeks, began a rent strike in November 2022, and most of their neighbors joined the strike the following February, per the same account. That tenant organizing set the stage for the scrutiny that followed Food First's attempted sale two years later.
New Ownership, New Funding for Repairs
Under the new arrangement, funding from HCR and HPD will support a full renovation of the four properties, according to IMPACCT Brooklyn. New York State Homes and Community Renewal is loaning $3 million to IMPACCT Brooklyn, and that loan will finance units reserved for low- and moderate-income tenants. IMPACCT Brooklyn will oversee the rehabilitation of the four properties and has said it will ensure the units remain affordable while allowing existing tenants to remain in their homes.
Jamal Clayton Robinson, executive director of IMPACCT Brooklyn, participated in the announcement of the preservation alongside Ruthanne Visnauskas, commissioner of New York State Homes and Community Renewal, and Dina Levy, commissioner of the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Visnauskas also appeared at the announcement. James's office said all New Yorkers deserve access to safe and affordable housing and framed the preservation as part of a broader effort to advocate for tenants across the state.
How the Preservation Fits a Broader Model
The arrangement echoes a housing model the city has used elsewhere to keep buildings affordable long-term. Housing Development Fund Corporation cooperatives, produced by HPD, are shareholder-owned properties that can give tenants the opportunity to own their apartments rather than simply rent them, according to the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development. That structure is meant to keep units functioning as long-term homes rather than investment vehicles, a distinction discussed in descriptions of similar HDFC preservation efforts around the city.
Comparable transfers have played out elsewhere in Brooklyn in recent years. A project at 96 Brooklyn Avenue, carried out through the city's Third Party Transfer program, was described by the New York Housing Conference as creating 26 units while allowing existing tenants to remain in their homes. In another case, Habitat for Humanity NYC and Westchester said its Housing Preservation Program helped a Brooklyn cooperative access $893,000 in financing to save its building from foreclosure, according to Habitat for Humanity NYC and Westchester.
For the tenants of 201 Pulaski Street, 709 Lafayette Avenue, 327 Franklin Avenue and 335 Franklin Avenue, the transfer to IMPACCT Brooklyn marks a new chapter after years of disrepair and organizing at at least one of the properties. James's office says it will continue advocating for tenants and the right to safe and affordable housing for New Yorkers going forward.
