City and housing officials broke ground on a $42 million affordable and supportive housing project on the grounds of Woodhull Hospital on Thursday.
The 93-unit Comunilife Throop Residence in Bushwick is part of NYC Health+Hospital’s “Housing for Health” initiative, and many of the units have been designated to support patients at the hospital who are also experiencing homelessness.
Health+Hospitals/Woodhull worked in tandem with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development as well as with Comunilife, a development organization that for over 30 years has become one of the city’s leading providers of supportive and affordable housing, to develop the project.
“In the Housing Our Neighbors blueprint, our administration committed to an array of bold ideas to create more safe, stable homes for New Yorkers,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a statement. “Today, we’re seeing how NYC Health + Hospitals, HPD, and other partner agencies are collaborating to change lives by giving more New Yorkers a place to call home.”
At the Comunilife Throop Residence, 56 the units will be designated for homeless patients, 21 apartments will be affordable homes for extremely low-income seniors, and the remaining 15 homes will be for other low-income New Yorkers, with one unit for a building super.
Supportive care residents at Comunilife Throop will receive medical and supportive services through the city’s 15/15 program — a supportive housing initiative first started by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“New York City has a dire need for supportive housing for our most vulnerable neighbors,” said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. “With on-site services provided by Comunilife, health care from Woodhull Hospital, and 93 high-quality affordable homes, we’re providing future residents of 171 Throop Ave with the level of care and attention they need and deserve.”
The land contributed to the Comunilife Throop Residence — which aims to open in late 2024 —was contributed by Health + Hospitals/Woodhull through a 99-year ground lease and is additionally financed by the HPD’s Supportive Housing Loan Program.
Amenities in the building will include 24-hour security, a community room, computer room, laundry room and a bike room in addition to a shared commercial kitchen and garden. The Comunilife Throop Residence will be connected to another affordable and supportive development , the Woodhull Residence, and the two will share a community space and back garden.
“Our new 93-unit Comunilife Throop Residence will build on Comunilife’s continuum of 3,059 units of supportive and affordable housing and is an example of our mission to provide vulnerable communities with housing and culturally sensitive supportive services,” said Dr. Rosa Gil, Comunilife’s President and CEO. “Comunilife believes that no one should be without the housing and supports they need to lead a healthy, meaningful life. We all know that housing is a key social determinant of health and that without a safe, affordable and permanent place to live, it is almost impossible for vulnerable New Yorkers to overcome their health and social issues.”
Healthcare professionals applauded the planned development, saying that not only would the new development provide some relief to the dire housing crisis Brooklyn is experiencing, but would also help improve the health of patients.
“The evidence is undeniable that stable housing allows patients to better manage their health,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “NYC Health + Hospitals is in the business of caring for our patients, and that extends to finding them a permanent place to live. Today, we’re using our land to create nearly 100 new apartments on our campus at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull. We hope health care systems nationwide follow suit.”
