Habitat for Humanity Finishes Up On Atlantic Ave.

According to the Daily News, Habitat for Humanity volunteers are putting the finishing touches on their Atlantic Avenue Condominiums today (in this heat!); the 41-unit apartment complex in Brownsville will give those in a need a chance to own their own home. Over 10,000 people came together to pitch in, and the Habitat NYC director says, "It's been fueled by Brooklyn pride," and that most moving in are "renters in Brooklyn who are taking a big step into home ownership." Over 8,000 applied to own a unit (there are 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms which range from $100-200K). And as for the finer details, "the front doors to each apartment at the complex are made from lumber milled from last year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree" (which always goes to good use). One woman moving in with her two children told the paper, "My kids keep saying that every day will be like Christmas."

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By Jen Carlson in News on August 20, 2009 5:39 PM

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Steve R

Great piece, and congrats to Habitat for Humanity. For neighborhood context (land use, nearby parks & gardens, transit, housing, etc), see the new OASIS maps at http://bit.ly/7SX27. Here's a pre-construction bird's eye view (http://twitpic.com/epqzx), plus aerial views from 1996 (http://bit.ly/cDsEs) and 2006 (http://bit.ly/4CBYPZ).

citizenerased

I worked on that for a day last year. Glad its finished : )

meechybee

Yes, even in this heat.

I was a crew leader for Habitat for a few years (a number of years ago) and I've never worked with more dedicated volunteers. Through summer heat and winter snowstorms, the sites were always buzzing. In one building in the Bronx, we even beat the "professional" crews and finished months ahead of them even though it was the dead of winter. By the time we had our ribbon-cutting and the spring flowers were planted they were just installing windows.

For all those who can't make a physical contribution, I implore you to donate a few bucks. A little goes a long way in helping Habitat help turn around depilated buildings and bring new life to struggling neighborhoods.