by Katie Vasquez
The shovels are in the ground and construction has started on a building along Livonia Avenue that will serve low-income seniors in Brownsville.
“We’re not just breaking ground but actually moving the project along,” said Bishop Robert Brennan.
The project, which includes 141 sustainable apartments, has been 10 years in the making with community residents coming together to voice the need for affordable housing.
“They identified the needs, what they would like to see here on the city owned land that was underutilized and just vacant,” said Tim McManus, Senior Vice President of Catholic Charities Progress of the Peoples Development Corporation.
According to Live On NY, a non profit that helps older New Yorkers, the number of people over the age of 65 in homeless shelters has never been higher, increasing from 5 percent to 8 percent over an eight year period. McManus along with the affordable housing arm of Catholic Charities said the organization has seen that need first hand with a project in Astoria.
“Of the 102 units, we had over 26,000 applicants,” McManus said.
The Gail P. Duke senior residence will also include a 10,000 square foot senior center with supportive services, hot meals, fitness classes and other amenities.
It is named after this woman who works with Catholic Charities. She is eager to see seniors living a healthy lifestyle.
“Getting out and finding some of these benefits are difficult and so we’re bringing all this to them,” said Gail Duke, treasurer of Catholic Charities Progress of the Peoples Development Corporation.
Getting seniors their own place to live is a priority for the Diocese of Brooklyn.
“We’ve always carried on the torch,” Bishop Brennan said. “and the need is getting greater and greater as you can see, more and more of our people are being pushed out of their neighborhoods.”
This project is expected to be completed in mid 2026.