December 30, 2024

HPD announces selection of development team to convert city-owned sanitation garage on the North Shore of Staten Island into housing with a grocery store, community services, and world class open space.  
  

Hillside Grove on Jersey Street is part of the administration's 24 in 24 Initiative to create and preserve housing on city-owned land.  

NEW YORK, NY – This afternoon, the City revealed plans to create affordable housing alongside a grocery store, community space and open space at a site currently occupied by a sanitation garage in Staten Island. Today, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced the development team and the plans that will transform the garage, long considered an eyesore and nuisance for the neighborhood, into affordable housing as well as a hub of new amenities for the community.   

As the City prepares to ring in the New Year, HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrion Jr. elaborated on the meaning of this project, “Hillside Grove is a promise of hope, renewal and community building for Staten Island’s North Shore. This project will transform a long overlooked site into 232 affordable homes, vibrant green spaces, and essential neighborhood services—giving families a place to thrive. Staten Island deserves housing that celebrates its strong sense of community and its yearning for affordable high-quality living. This development is a shining example of what’s possible when we collaborate to invest in our neighborhoods and our neighbors’ futures.”  

“This administration has made it a priority to utilize publicly owned land by city agencies to create affordable housing,” said Executive Director for Housing Leila Bozorg. “That is why I am thrilled to see Volunteers of America-Greater New York, Spatial Equity Co., and Nehemiah HDFC were designated to transform a DSNY garage into an affordable housing community equipped with both rental and homeownership opportunities for Staten Islanders. This project will set the bar for the type of innovative and sustainable projects that could be realized on former city agency owned land.”  

The Site & Development Team: Hillside Grove on Jersey Street  

The NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) garage at 539 Jersey Street on the North Shore of Staten Island will be transformed into “Hillside Grove,” a mixed-use affordable housing development. Hillside Grove will be developed through a collaboration between notable affordable housing partners: Volunteers of America - Greater New York, Spatial Equity Co., and Nehemiah HDFC.  

"Homeownership is a key tool for housing stability and the creation of generational wealth," said Arshad Bacchus, Managing Director of Nehemiah HDFC. "Nehemiah was pleased to see the release of this RFP that allowed for the creation of much needed affordable homeownership opportunities. We are proud to partner with the amazing folks at Volunteers for America – Greater New York and Spatial Equity and looking forward to this transformative project."  

"Spatial Equity is delighted to partner with VOA-GNY and Nehemiah HDFC to deliver homeownership opportunities, deeply affordable housing and environmental justice to Staten Island's North Shore," said Teg Sethi, Principal of Spatial Equity Co. "We are grateful to HPD, Councilmember Hanks and the Adams administration for their commitment to keep housing affordable for Staten Islanders."  

“Everyone deserves an affordable, safe, and comfortable place to call home,” said Jeffrey Ginsburg, President & CEO of Volunteers of America-Greater New York. “It is a privilege to contribute to the broader revitalization of Staten Island’s North Shore through the transition of this sanitation depot into desperately needed affordable housing. We are excited to lend our expertise as a leading non-profit housing developer and a trusted provider of social services to this transformational project. Hillside Grove is a powerful example of what can be achieved when a once-in-a-generation investment is made to realize the vision of community members.”  

Hillside Grove is designed by Purpose by Design Architects, a purpose-driven M/WBE design collaborative dedicated to promoting healthy, sustainable, and inclusive spaces at all scales.   

They envision Hillside Grove as an urban sanctuary promoting community and well-being, drawing inspiration from the sloping terrain, historic homes, and lush tree canopy of the neighborhood. The design of the project includes 4- and 5-story buildings and embodies the concepts of health and wellness, aging in place, universal and inclusive design, active design, zero waste, and trauma informed design.  

Hillside Grove is designed to include public spaces around the perimeter of the site, including a public plaza at the corner of Jersey Street and Victory Boulevard for bus riders and grocery store customers, a public plaza at Brook Street, and widened sidewalks with shaded seating along Jersey Street. An interior courtyard for residents will provide passive open space as well as a jogging path, community garden, recreation space, and a seating area.  

Hillside Grove will employ several sustainability strategies including Passive House certification, a geothermal energy system, mid-door gardens, and rooftop solar. The development will utilize stormwater management and heat mitigation strategies including planting over 100 trees, green roofs, retention ponds, dry wells, porous pavement and rainwater capture and storage. 
  

Building Breakdowns + Amenities  

Highlights of Hillside Grove include:  

• 232 affordable homes across three residential buildings, including a 
  • senior building with 90 homes, up to 60% AMI  
  • multifamily rental building with 105 homes, up to 80% AMI  
  • homeownership coop building  
• a grocery store,  
• community facility space,  
• below grade parking, and  
• more than 46,000 square feet of outdoor open space throughout the project.   

The senior rental building: Hillside Grove will include a rental building targeted to older adults with approximately 90 homes affordable to those earning up to 60 percent of the area median income.   

The multifamily rental building: Hillside Grove’s multifamily building will have approximately 105 affordable homes that will serve a mix of affordability levels from extremely low-income households to those earning up to 80 percent of the area median income.   

The homeownership co-op building: the homeownership building will include approximately 37 affordable homes available for purchase by moderate-income households.  

Extremely Low Income Households: Approximately two-thirds of the affordable homes at Hillside Grove will be reserved for extremely low and very low-income households, including approximately 60 homes reserved for families placed from the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelter system.  

Amenities: In addition to the affordable housing, residential amenities at Hillside Grove will include   

• community rooms, space for residents including outdoor recreation space, exercise rooms, a classroom computer lab, laundry rooms, resident lounges; 
• jogging path for residents;  
• two “mid-door gardens,” which are designed as year-round indoor greenspaces with passive sustainability benefits; and  
• a grocery store and a community facility space that will be programmed by local partners.  

Services: Volunteers of America - GNY will provide senior services in the senior building and supportive services and case management for the formerly homeless households in the senior and multifamily rental buildings.  

The Planning Process + History of the Site   

Originally highlighted as a development site in the 2019 Bay Street Rezoning, this project is an important step in furthering Mayor Adams’ North Shore Action Plan.   

The competitive Jersey Street RFP process followed HPD’s extensive engagement for the site as part of the Bay Street Corridor Neighborhood Plan, which was led by the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) and approved in 2019.   

Council Member Kamillah M. Hanks added, “this transformative project is long overdue and a true game-changer for Staten Island’s North Shore. For years, the community has expressed the need for more affordable housing, accessible amenities, and vibrant public spaces. Hillside Grove represents the fulfillment of that vision—bringing affordable units that include senior housing, a much-needed grocery store, and community resources to the heart of Jersey Street.”   

More recently, HPD completed a months-long community visioning process in 2023 which culminated in the publishing of a community visioning report. Development teams were evaluated on how they responded to the community priorities identified in the report.   

With a nod to the thorough engagement process, Council Member Hanks added, “I want to thank the Adams administration and HPD for their commitment to bringing this long-awaited project to life and for listening to the voices of our community.” 

Neighborhood Sanitation  

Residents can still expect reliable sanitation service throughout the redevelopment process. Services based out of the garage, including vital cleaning, collection, and snow removal for the area, will be relocated to a new DSNY garage in Fresh Kills that is currently under construction by the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC).  

The creation of affordable housing on this site is a multiagency effort and the sanitation department’s partnership is critical to ensuring the new homes can be created without impacting services in the area.  

24 in 24 Initiative    

This project is the latest step in completing Mayor Adams’ “24 in 24” plan, first announced in his State of the City address in January 2024. Through the plan, the Adams administration is advancing 24 affordable housing projects on public sites in 2024 to create or preserve over 12,000 units of housing through partnerships across HPD, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).   

So far in 2024, HPD has advanced affordable housing development on public land in the following ways: 

1. Selecting a development team to construct approximately 116 homes for low-income families in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. 
2. Selecting a development team to construct approximately 90 affordable homes and a community theater in an all-electric building in Mott Haven, in the Bronx.  
3. Releasing the Stebbins Avenue RFP to seek proposals for new affordable housing on a city-owned lot in the Crotona Park East neighborhood of the South Bronx. 
4. Releasing the Nevins and Third RFP to seek proposals for new affordable housing on two city-owned parking lots in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. 
5. Launching the community engagement process to develop approximately 570 homes on city-owned land along the Harlem River waterfront in Inwood, Manhattan. 
6. Launching the community engagement process for development of over 800 homes on city-owned land in Hunter’s Point South, Queens. 
7. Launching the community engagement process in partnership with The New York Public Library (NYPL) for the redevelopment the Grand Concourse Library with a brand-new library and affordable housing on top.    
8. Launching the community engagement phase of plans to develop a city-owned parking lot at 324 East 5th Street, in the East Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, currently used by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), into 100% affordable housing. 

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The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) promotes quality and affordability in the city's housing, and diversity and strength in the city’s neighborhoods - because every New Yorker deserves a safe, affordable place to live in a neighborhood they love. We maintain building and resident safety and health, create opportunities for New Yorkers through housing affordability, and engage New Yorkers to build and sustain neighborhood strength and diversity. HPD is entrusted with fulfilling these objectives through the goals and strategies of Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness, Mayor Adams’ comprehensive housing framework. To learn more about what we do, visit nyc.gov/hpd and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @NYCHousing.