A new affordable housing development catering to down-and-out veterans of the US Armed Forces opened its doors on Wednesday, bringing 135 below-market-rate units to the People’s Playground.
Surf Vets Place, located on the corner of W. 21st Street and Surf Avenue, offers 82 units for formerly homeless veterans and 53 affordable units to residents who make between 50 and 60 percent of the area median income for New York City, which is $96,100 for a family of three.
According to developers, the complex is one of the largest of its kind in the borough.
“There’s nothing quite like this,” said Ralph Fasano, the executive director of Concern for Independent Living, the organization that worked with the city’s Department of Veterans Services to administer the apartments for the vets. “There’s some scattered veteran housing around right now, but not on a scale like this.”
The veterans’ units will cost tenants 30 percent of their adjusted gross income, and the other affordable apartments go for anywhere between $929 and $1289 per month, said a rep for Georgica Green Ventures, the building’s developer.
Eligible veterans were referred to the Concern for Independent Living through veteran shelter system and associated providers, Fasano said, while tenants for the affordable units applied through the city’s Housing Connect platform online, and were selected through a lottery. All the units are currently filled, and there are 57 applicants on the waitlist for the affordable units.
The nine-story building also includes nearly two football fields worth of retail space on its ground floor, which Fasano said would be occupied by one or two commercial tenants — most likely a boutique grocery store or a community organization, such as Brownsville Community Culinary Center.
The property’s architect, the Stephen B. Jacobs Group, filed plans for the tower back in April 2016 and planned to open up the building by Jan., 2019, but construction delays pushed the opening back to Nov. 20, Fasano said.
When the complex did finally open its doors, local leaders lauded it as one of the most modern affordable housing complexes in the area.

“This is the most beautiful affordable housing development in Coney Island, and this sets an important tone for the rest of the development that is coming to our community,” said Councilman Mark Treyger (D–Coney Island) at the ribbon-cutting. “We can point to this beautiful residence and say this is the standard, and that all of our residents deserve nothing less.”
Surf Vets Place was required to include affordable units because it sits within the special Coney Island District, a product of the area’s 2009 rezoning, which mandates that builders set aside 35 percent of units in complexes within the district for families who earn between 51 percent and 120 percent of the area’s median income.
How poor are the homeless of our city? They are so poor that they can’t afford any housing,even that which may be affordable to anyone else.
Sheva. I was thinking the same thing. I hope they can make the rent. If not, they will be back in the same situation. Praying for them.
I’m a single dad, veteran- and NOT Homeless (but living with my parent); yet I still don’t qualify..smh
Place some quality retail, the are ais gentirfying enough with community centrers and terrible grocers. Lets get retail, coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants and awesome bars with great mixology.
I’m wondering if the formerly homeless vets will be receiving counseling and other services to help them make the transition to living in this housing.
This news has given me much hope toward
making a big dent in our homeless shame.!
USA is too advanced & rich to have developed a homeless problem during the last 30-40 years & to have included our veterans. We need to do so much more on
homeless issues..
THEY ARE GETTING A KICK OUT OF THIS, IN THEIR EYES, IT IS A COMICAL BUSINESS, ALTHOUGH A HORRIFIC CRIME
CITY TO OPEN 250 THERAPEUTIC BEDS FOR BOROUGH JAIL INMATES: MAYOR……SEE?????
QUESTION, DO YOU THINK THEY WILL ALLOW US TO BUY LAND FOR $1.00, ….OR FOR THAT MATTER….PROPERTY ANY LONGER??????
ALL OF OUR LAND, OUR TAX MONEY, OUR HOUSING GOING TO BIG FELLAS, WHO DON’T NEED IT, THEN ,THEY TAUNT AND TEASE US WITH IT, NOT ALLOW US FAIR CHANCE NOR OPPORTUNITY, TO AFFORD ANY OF IT
CAN YOU NOTIFY THE REST OF CITY COUNCIL, THE FORMER MAYOR – BLOOMBERG, ALL THE MAYORS BETWEEN HIM AND KOCH, THE CURRENT MAYOR, THE FORMER GOVERNORS, THE CURRENT GOVERNOR, HPD, HFDC, HDC, AND ALL THE DEVELOPERS WHO PARTNERED WITH THEM TO “MAKE NYC HOMELESS AGAIN”, THAT WE ARE TAX PAYING VETERANS OF THE CITY, WHOSE MONEY WAS USED TO RENOVATE AND DEVELOP THE MAJORITY OF THIS HOUSING AND WE WANT HOMES THAT ARE PRICED AFFORDABLE TO US AS WELL, THANK YOU
WHAT A NICE DEVELOPMENT THEY PUT UP AND INCLUDED VETERANS OF THE ARMED FORCES – CONGRATULATIONS TO THE VETS