New analysis prepared by HR&A Advisors documents how tenant groups and community organizations are acquiring housing, land, and major community assets to fight displacement

Features eight organizations advancing 18 projects across the five boroughs, creating over 800 permanently affordable housing units and community-controlled assets

NEW YORK, NY (June 22, 2026) — In East New York, tenants of a neglected apartment building voted to purchase their property and convert it into a permanently affordable cooperative. Their effort is one of 18 community ownership projects highlighted in a new report from the Change Capital Fund (CCF), a collaborative of New York City’s leading banks, foundations, intermediaries and the NYC Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity. We Can Own New York City’s Future: Lessons from Change Capital Fund’s Community Ownership Grantees is a report from CCF and prepared by HR&A Advisors that looks at how local residents are organizing to form community land trusts, and other forms of community ownership that give residents control of residential buildings, development sites, and major community assets that will remain permanently affordable and community-governed. 

We Can Own New York City’s Future examines eight organizations across the five boroughs that received almost $10 million total over four years for operational and technical grants from CCF starting in 2023. These organizations, many newly formed, are advancing community ownership models such as community land trusts and limited-equity cooperatives, worker and consumer coops, and partnerships with government on City land. By removing housing from the speculative market, these models help combat displacement and strengthen neighborhood stability.

“Every New Yorker deserves a safe, affordable home, and as we lay out in the Block by Block housing plan, we are committed to protecting tenants’ rights, helping stabilize at-risk buildings, and exploring new models of community ownership. In this critical moment for housing in New York City, we appreciate this report’s recommendations, and we look forward to working with all stakeholders to expand access to affordable, quality housing for generations to come,” said Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Dina Levy.

These efforts are leading 18 community ownership projects that will produce 823 units of permanently affordable housing: 697 units for homeownership and 126 units for rent. Of those, 245 are already occupied by tenants. This creates opportunities for hundreds of New Yorkers, including: 

Housing 

• In East New York, tenants are converting a poorly maintained rental building into a permanently affordable cooperative as part of The East New York Community Land Trust.
• In East Harlem, residents have moved or are readying to move into four buildings that will be in the East Harlem El Barrio Community Land Trust.
• In Queens, first-time homeowners are moving into newly constructed passive houses through the Interboro Community Land Trust, trading property appreciation for affordability, limited equity, and multi-generational security. 
• In the Rockaways, residents are planning a 119-lot development as part of the ReAL Edgemere Community Land Trust. 

Community Assets

• After 15 years of community organizing in Mott Haven, South Bronx Unite gained control of the Lincoln Recovery Center and raised the $45 million needed to transform the historic site into a center for community health and culture. 
• The Kingsbridge Armory – the largest armory in the country, which was vacant for over 30 years – will be partially owned by the community and transformed into an economic and cultural hub by Our Bronx.

Economic Development

• Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice won a contract to activate unused land under the Bruckner Expressway as an economic engine that features concessions, art, and a flea market. 
• The Central Brooklyn Food Coop is joining forces with worker-owned food businesses supported by RiseBoro Community Partnership to create an oasis of healthy food in an affordable housing development. 

The report documents these achievements and makes recommendations to expand community-controlled housing and real estate as tools to preserve affordability and limit displacement. Community ownership was included in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s housing plan, Block by Block, as one way to help address housing affordability and displacement, which has emerged as a growing strategy in New York City’s housing policy discussions.

“Change Capital Fund is excited to share the impressive accomplishments of the eight grantees we have supported over the last three and a half years. They are turning their communities’ dreams and visions into bricks and mortar, expanding opportunities that provide a secure future for people now living in New York City’s low-income communities,” said Chantella Mitchell, Co-Chair, Change Capital Fund, Program Director, New York Community Trust.

The report features recommendations to other funders and City and State policymakers about how best to support the community ownership ecosystem at this moment of unusual urgency and opportunity, including:

• Increase operating support: Expand government and philanthropic operating support for community organizations as community ownership moves toward sustainable scale.
• Open the public land pipeline: City government should open the public land and disposition pipeline for community ownership.
• Provide fast, flexible capital: Deploy capital that moves at the speed of the private market to realize the potential of policies such as the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) and opportunities to convert affordable housing into permanently affordable social housing.
• Build field infrastructure: Philanthropy, the field, and city government should build the shared stewardship and field infrastructure that community ownership depends on.

“We literally didn’t have the security of a locked door to our building. Now we are making our home what we want it to be – safe, clean, well-run, and maintained. The tenants of our building look forward to being owners – owners in cooperation,” said Ana Markland, President, 248 Arlington Avenue Tenants Council.

“Our Bronx is proud to be a vehicle for moving the aspirations of Bronx residents into reality. Community ownership is not a fringe idea; it is a proven, financially sound strategy to preserve affordability, prevent displacement, and ensure that the wealth created in our neighborhoods benefits the people who have invested in them for generations,” said  Sandra Lobo, Executive Director, Our Bronx.

We Can Own New York City’s Future was announced at the Housing Affordability and Community Ownership Forum, where representatives from city government, philanthropy, finance, affordable housing, and community organizations convened to discuss ways to increase the share of community-controlled housing in New York City. 

The next CCF grant cycle will begin in 2027 to sustain the community ownership movement’s momentum.

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About Change Capital Fund
Change Capital Fund (CCF) is a 22-member donor collaborative consisting of corporate philanthropy, foundations, intermediaries, and the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity. In 2023, CCF launched a four-year funding cycle to support eight community ownership organizations in New York City as they built their capacity to engage in the active development of community-controlled real estate. 

Current CCF members include: Altman Foundation, Amalgamated Bank, Bank United, Capital One, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, Enterprise Community Partners, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, M&T Charitable Foundation, MUFG, New York Foundation, Principal Foundation, Santander Bank, Scherman Foundation, The New York Community Trust, Trinity Church Wall Street, United Way of New York City, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, and the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity (ex officio).

About HR&A Advisors
HR&A Advisors, Inc. (HR&A), an employee-owned company, helps cities tackle their most pressing challenges. For over 50 years, HR&A has guided public, private, and nonprofit leaders through high-stakes decisions that create impact. We combine rigorous analysis with creative problem-solving to unlock investment, expand opportunity, and bring communities to life. Learn more at hraadvisors.com.