JOE FAC Infinity

Organization Name: Fifth Avenue Committee

Project Title: JOE FAC Infinity

Project Location: Sunset Park, Park Slope, Gowanus, Boerum Hill, Prospect Heights

Project Description:
The Joint Ownership Entity (JOE) FAC Infinity project is a preservation and rehabilitation effort encompassing 102 units across 12 buildings in five Brooklyn neighborhoods—Boerum Hill, Gowanus, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, and Sunset Park—each facing intense gentrification and displacement pressures. The project includes both moderate and substantial rehabilitations designed to extend building life, reduce operating costs, and improve energy efficiency and tenant comfort. It leverages multiple energy efficiency programs including NYSERDA’s RetrofitNY 2.0, the New York State Affordable Multifamily Energy Efficiency Program, and the New York State Clean Heat program, and several buildings will earn Enterprise Green Communities certification. Upon completion, ownership of all buildings will be transferred from Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC) to the Joint Ownership Entity New York City (JOE NYC), a pioneering membership organization of nonprofit housing developers. This structure preserves long-term affordability and ensures that community-based nonprofits maintain control and financial stability across portfolios.

Community Impact:
This project preserves 100 units of affordable housing in neighborhoods that are facing displacement pressures (the 2 additional units also being rehabilitated are super units). Affordability is structured to prioritize those with the greatest need: 49 units at 30% AMI, 29 at 40% AMI, 19 at 50% AMI, and 3 at 60% AMI. Seventeen homes are set aside for formerly homeless households referred from NYC’s shelter system, advancing the City’s rehousing goals.

The project sustains long-term community stability by pairing affordability with investment in six local commercial spaces leased to neighborhood businesses and the inclusion of community-inspired public art. These spaces reinforce Fifth Avenue Committee’s holistic approach to community preservation and empowerment, by contributing to local economy. Together, these elements strengthen local economies, cultural identity, and tenant well-being. By coupling physical rehabilitation with permanent nonprofit ownership through JOE NYC, this project provides a replicable model for community-based preservation—one that directly responds to the operating and financial pressures facing New York City’s affordable housing sector.

Organization Description:
Fifth Avenue Committee’s mission is to advance economic, social, and racial justice in NYC through integrated, community-centered affordable housing, grassroots organizing, policy advocacy, and transformative education, training and services that build the power to shape the community’s future. FAC builds physical infrastructure; fosters community through organizing; and transforms the lives of individuals and families with direct services. FAC has developed over 1,400 affordable homes and has a development pipeline totaling more than 2,000 units.

Team Members:

Fifth Avenue Committee
ESKW/Architects