NOEL POINTER COURT, BRIDGE STREET'S LATEST AFFORDABLE BUILDING, NEARS COMPLETION

The construction of Noel Pointer Court, Bridge Street Development Corporation’s (BSDC) newest, 23-unit, affordable housing building at 790 Lafayette Avenue, is now 80% complete, with all major construction work done and all mechanical systems installed. The work that remains—lighting, flooring, finishes, cabinetry, and hardware—are the details for which BSDC is renowned for the use of high-quality, attractive yet durable materials, in contrast to many affordable housing projects that often skimp on such features. “One thing we have realized is that our tenants and the community at large appreciate that we work hard to produce apartments that are attractive and use high-quality materials that people can be proud of,” says Emilio Dorcely, BSDC’s Acting President/CEO. “Our affordable housing developments are indistinguishable from private, market rate rental buildings.”

Noel Pointer Court is a prime example of BSDC’s holistic approach to community development. Not only will the project create 23 new affordable apartments at a time when Bedford-Stuyvesant rents are skyrocketing and pricing out longtime residents, but BSDC staffers will also provide residents with on-site financial readiness, homeownership, and cooperative living training. The long-term goal of this training is to prepare residents to eventually purchase their apartments at well below market rate after a 15-year tax credit period expires.

With the building scheduled to be complete in December 2012, BSDC staffers are hard at work planning the application process for prospective tenants, who will have to meet minimum and maximum income requirements in order to be eligible. They will begin advertising the apartments and all eligibility requirements at the end of the summer, and applications will be accepted via an official NYC website dedicated to affordable housing in the city. Tenants will be randomly selected from a pool of eligible applicants. For more information about Noel Pointer Court and the application process, please check our website (www.bsdcorp.org) beginning in September.