A wood-frame house built in 1901 on Liberty Avenue in East New York is now in the path of an eight-story apartment building, after new permits were filed for the site this week. The 1,676-square-foot residence, tucked between Hendrix Street and Schenck Street, would be torn down to make way for 45 rental units just steps from a subway stop that has become the epicenter of a private development boom in the neighborhood.
According to New York YIMBY, the filings for 549 Liberty Avenue call for an 85-foot-tall, concrete-based structure totaling 33,998 square feet. Of that, 31,694 square feet is designated residential space split across 45 units, averaging 704 square feet apiece, with 2,303 square feet set aside for ground-floor commercial use. The outlet reports the small footprint of the average unit suggests the residences are most likely to be rental apartments rather than condos. No demolition permits have been filed yet for the existing house, and no estimated completion date has been announced.
A Familiar Name Behind the Application
Aron Harfenes is listed as the owner behind the applications, according to the same New York YIMBY report. Harfenes has a multi-year presence in East New York's residential real estate market, having previously filed permit applications in June 2023 for an eight-unit residential expansion at 739 Wyona Street, as detailed by New York YIMBY at the time.
Navkiran Cheema of KMA Designs LLC is listed as architect of record on the Liberty Avenue project, per the filing. Cheema has emerged as a frequent applicant for mid-to-high density residential permits across the outer boroughs this year, with credits including a 99-unit mixed-use building at 69 Chester Street in Brownsville and a 14-unit residential building in Castle Hill, according to PincusCo. Hoodline previously covered that Brownsville tower, which shares the same architect of record.
Why the Zoning Allows an Eight-Story Building
The site's ability to reach eight stories traces back to the 190-block East New York Neighborhood Plan, a rezoning approved by the New York City Council in April 2016 to boost housing capacity along commercial avenues, according to the NYC Department of City Planning. That plan made East New York the first area in the city mapped for Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, a rule requiring 20% to 30% of residential floor area in projects that use the added density to be set aside as permanently affordable, per the NYC Council.
The building's lack of accessory parking also has a policy explanation. The City Council adopted the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity zoning amendments in December 2024, eliminating or significantly reducing off-street parking mandates for transit-oriented residential developments across Brooklyn, according to Rosenberg & Estis. That reform helps explain why the proposed building will not include parking, even though it sits near the Van Siclen Avenue subway station, served by the C train.
Part of a Broader East New York Building Wave
The 549 Liberty Avenue filing lands amid an active stretch of private mid-rise proposals along East New York's transit corridors this year. Hoodline has tracked a 40-unit, seven-story proposal at 320 Essex Street and a 90-unit tower planned for 2273 Pitkin Avenue near the same Van Siclen Avenue station, pointing to a cluster of low-rise commercial and residential parcels converting to multi-family housing.
Those private infill projects sit alongside much larger institutional efforts reshaping the neighborhood's housing supply. The 2,400-unit Alafia complex and the 2,000-unit Innovative Urban Village represent the primary drivers of East New York's housing volume, with smaller private lots like 549 Liberty Avenue filling in around them, as Hoodline has reported. Census Bureau statistics compiled in 2025 put East New York's median household income at $56,523 in 2024, well below the citywide median of $85,974, according to Point2Homes — a gap that shapes debate over how much of this new supply will actually be affordable to current residents.
What Happens Next
Because the proposed building exceeds seven stories, the filing will be automatically routed to the city's Development Hub for specialized technical review under Department of Buildings rules updated in 2021, a process Hoodline has outlined in coverage of similar high-density filings nearby. For now, the century-old house on the lot remains standing, with no demolition permit yet filed and no construction timeline announced.
