Fifteen-year NBA veteran and Brooklyn native Taj Gibson is giving back to his community.
On July 22, the former Knicks player and his childhood friends, Tameek Floyd and Malik Brown, announced the launch of GFB Development, a “community-driven” real estate development firm. The founders said GFB aims to bring affordable housing and community spaces to underserved areas and improve the quality of life for low-income families by providing them with resources and opportunities.
Their first project will be a multi-use real estate development at 240 Nassau St. in Fort Greene, the former location of the Navy Yard Clubhouse. The development will include affordable housing and community spaces.
GFB partnered with Brooklyn-based Alloy Development, which purchased the property from the embattled Madison Square Boys and Girls Club in November 2023 for $15 million, to turn the development, still in its planning stages, into reality.
The property is currently zoned for up to 59,321 square feet of residential development. An Alloy spokesperson said Alloy and GFB “plan to submit a rezoning application later this year to increase the development rights at the site.” However, the spokesperson said the scale of the project, the number of housing units, or how it will be financed are not yet determined.
Since acquiring the property, Alloy has held more than 50 meetings with community organizations, nearby NYCHA tenant associations, elected officials, and neighbors to discuss the site’s future. Both firms will continue hosting regular meetings to gather input from residents of the nearby NYCHA communities of Farragut, Ingersoll, and Walt Whitman.
Gibson, Floyd and Brown grew up in Ingersoll Houses, and their experience in NYCHA housing shaped their vision of building a firm that provides stability and safe spaces. The trio believes community engagement is essential.
“This project will rethink and reopen a vital neighborhood resource informed directly by the needs of this community. Because when residents are involved in planning for the future of their neighborhood, it makes for better outcomes for everyone,” Gibson said in a statement. “There’s so much work to do, and we’re ready to do our part.”
Gibson, who just signed a one-year contract with the Charlotte Hornets, described growing up in NYCHA housing as “a blessing and a curse.”
“It made me who I am today, but I’ve also seen how limited resources and poor housing conditions can take a toll on families,” he said. “We want to do our part in changing that cycle.”
Floyd said the firm is focused on making a difference in their community.
“Development should be about meeting the community where they are and upgrading the quality of life for all people,” Floyd said.
Brown sees the project as an opportunity to help people like him who still live in NYCHA and deserve a better life.
“I always wondered why my people who live in Ingersoll aren’t evolving with the surrounding community – it’s because they’ve been left behind,” he said. “This project is all about investing in the spaces and housing that will strengthen ties between Ingersoll, Farragut, and Walt Whitman for decades to come.”
Alloy Development has a strong track record of local hiring and community engagement in Brooklyn, most recently as part of its mixed-use Alloy Block project in Downtown Brooklyn. The project, still under construction, will include the city’s first two Passive House public schools: a new Khalil Gibran International Academy high school and a new public elementary school.
