TENANT OWNERSHIP

As landlords and real estate speculators continue to buy up land in East New York, longtime residents—majority working-class Black and brown families—are being pushed to the brink of displacement. Rising rents and other predatory landlord practices are pushing residents out of the neighborhood they’ve called home for generations.

The only way to halt this wave of displacement is for residents to take ownership of their buildings to guarantee the long-term preservation of their homes and communities. The CLT model allows tenants to collectively own their buildings, make decisions about how those buildings are managed, and safeguard them from market pressures that threaten their affordability and liveability.

OUR VICTORY

In February 2024, we made history as the first community land trust in New York City to privately acquire a multifamily building.

We are now in the process of rehabbing the building and upgrading all building-wide systems. Through regular meetings, leadership development, and tenant governance structures, we are empowering residents to actively shape the future of their home, ensuring that they drive both the physical and social transformation of the building.

Once construction is complete, the building will transition into an HDFC cooperative, providing long-term affordability and resident control.

WHAT’S NEXT?

We plan to build on this victory and scale our model over the next three years by:

Supporting Tenant Takeovers - We will continue to work with tenants to take over their buildings from predatory landlords and speculators with the goal of acquiring at least 25 more units in 3 years.
Passing the NYC Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (Intro 902) and the NYS Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act - COPA gives CLTs and other mission-driven nonprofits a first right to purchase multifamily buildings when landlords sell. Modeled on successful legislation implemented in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, COPA would curb speculation and level the playing field for nonprofits to expand the supply of permanently-affordable, community- and tenant-controlled housing. Learn more.
Boosting City & State Funding for CLT acquisition - In April 2025, the City of New York relaunched its private acquisitions and rehab funding program. Its an important first step to making tenant takeovers of private buildings like 248 Arlington more possible but its only capitalized at $13 million. We are fighting to expand funding for tenant and CLT-led acquisitions.