Bronx Community Board 4’s Housing and Land Use Committee unanimously approved a motion to request a new affordable housing complex in Morrisania this week, which would be reserved for both survivors of domestic violence and Housing Connect lottery winners.
Nicole Branca, the executive director of New Destiny Housing, a nonprofit committed to providing permanent, affordable living options to survivors of domestic violence and their children, said their mission is to end the cycle of domestic violence for low income families.
“New Destiny exists to find homes for DV survivors who have lost everything and are trying to rebuild their lives and their community again,” she said during the CB4 meeting Monday.
Branca said domestic violence is the No. 1 number one reason for family homelessness in New York City, the majority of those women and women of color.
The new building, an old mechanic shop on Webster Avenue in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, will add to the existing New Destiny Housing stock across the city. Branca said there are currently five complexes in the Bronx, three in Brooklyn with another in development, and one in Queens.
New Destiny Housing is planning to convert that mechanic shop they bought on Webster Avenue into a fully renovated 72-unit apartment complex. There will be 43 units designated for survivors of domestic violence and 28 Housing Connect lottery units — which include 12 studios, 15 one-bedrooms, 36 two-bedrooms, eight three-bedrooms, and one super’s unit. All 72 of the apartments will go for 60% of the area median income (AMI) or less. The New York City Housing Connect lottery aids people who meet household income and size requirements for affordable housing.
Other apartment amenities include a backyard with canopy trees, a roof garden and solar panels. New Destiny Housing representatives touted the area’s accessibility during the CB4 meeting — saying the site is close to the 41 and 35 select bus routes, and a 15-minute walk from the B and D trains.
The Bronx was the borough with the most domestic violence cases and deaths citywide in 2021, with more than 9,500 reported incidents. Over the span of that year, an average 700 domestic violence calls were reported to the NYPD per day across all five boroughs.
NYC’s domestic violence rates are the highest in the Bronx. So what’s being done about it?
Branca said while the majority of New Destiny Housing’s clients come from the Bronx and she anticipates mostly Bronxites to move into the new Morrisania apartment building, the application will be open to anyone.
Construction is scheduled to start in the spring of 2024 and conclude in 2026, pending a vote of the full CB4 board and subsequent city approvals.
Reach Camille Botello at cbotello@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
