Bainbridge Manor

Organization Name: New Destiny Housing Corporation

Project Title: Bainbridge Manor

Project Location: Brooklyn, NY

Project Goals:
Bainbridge Manor integrates affordable green housing with services tailored to meet the needs of homeless women and children coming directly from the domestic violence shelter system. Without the safety and stability of affordable permanent housing, low-income domestic violence victims are likely to remain in or return to unsafe situations—continuing the cycle of violence and homelessness. Permanent, affordable housing enables families to move beyond crisis and empowers them to break the cycle of violence and achieve their goals of independence and safety.

The cornerstone of our housing is our on-site services tailored to the needs of tenants coming from shelter. Services create an environment that engage families, build community and empower survivors to overcome obstacles while simultaneously offering the support and assistance they often need. Our goal is to help tenants remain stable in their housing, violence free and begin to establish economic security.

Project Description:
Bainbridge Manor is a 29,000 square foot building with 23 affordable studio and two-bedroom rental units, a multi-purpose resident’s lounge, children’s room, computer room, offices for support services staff and secure outdoor space. The project incorporates energy saving, sustainable and non-toxic features such as a high efficiency condensing boiler, lighting on motion sensors, low e-glass windows and materials made with low VOC chemicals. Sixty percent of Bainbridge Manor’s apartments are set aside for homeless families, most headed by a domestic violence survivor from the HRA shelter system. All units are affordable to households earning 60% of Area Median Income or less. Architect: Harden Van Arnam Architects PLLC Contractor: Bruno Frustaci Contracting Funding: Corporation for Supportive Housing and Deutsche Bank provided pre-development funding. Construction/permanent funding provided by NYS HCR, NYS HHAP, NYC HPD, Vincent Mulford Foundation and KeySpan’s Cinderella program.

Community Impact:
What was a large vacant lot has been developed as high quality permanent affordable apartments for previously homeless survivors of domestic violence and very low-income individuals and families from the community. Typically domestic violence survivors leaving the emergency and transitional shelter systems in New York City are still suffering from trauma. The services provided on-site – offered within the context of safe, permanent housing - help victims of violence continue the healing process while addressing many of the issues (safety planning, job training, parenting, independent living skills) that enable them to remain stable and violence-free over time.

The project is strategically located adjacent to three other affordable rental projects that we own and manage which enables us to reduce costs by having buildings share a full-time superintendent and support services staff, thus spreading costs for property management across the three buildings.

Organization Description:
New Destiny promotes the long-term security and stability of low-income families and individuals at risk of domestic violence and homelessness. We develop and manage affordable housing, offer programs and services to help domestic violence survivors find and retain safe permanent housing, and advocate for increasing the permanent housing options of low-income families. Over 21 years, we have developed 15 buildings with 305 units of transitional and permanent housing. On any given day, NYC shelters house over 15,000 women and children who have fled domestic violence. Reducing family homelessness means addressing the needs of low-income domestic violence survivors. For victims of abuse leaving shelters, safe stable housing is the number one need. It is also the necessary platform for healing and rebuilding their lives. But, housing alone is often not enough. Without appropriate support services, many survivors find themselves homeless again, caught in a continuing cycle of violence.