BROWNSVILLE, Brooklyn — Over a hundred of families now have an affordable place to live in Brownsville thanks to the city and private developers; it’s a beacon of hope in the middle of a housing crisis.

The New York City City Housing Authority’s Van Dyke Houses used to be a parking lot. Now it’s a new building tenants can afford to live in.

J.D. DeBerry waited two years for an affordable apartment.  DeBerry is formerly homeless and says he moved from shelter to shelter. This mont, he finally finally moved into his new studio apartment in this new building on Dumont Avenue in Brownsville. It’s called Van Dyke III: a 12-story mixed-use development with 100 percent affordable housing, thanks to a partnership between Trinity Financial and the city.

NYCHA’s CEO and NYC Councilmeber Alicka Ampry-Samuel, the person set to be appointed the new NY and NJ Housing and Urban Development director, were both at the opening.  Samuels grew up up in Brownsville and says now, in her new position of power, she plans on making a change in the community that she knows and loves.

“My heart is in Brownsville. This is where I was born and raised. I must say, my heart is with public housing families. I have said over the years, I am not the exception, but I am an example of what comes out of public housing,” said Samuel.

The building has 179 apartments for low-income families and 50 of those apartments are for formerly homeless families.

“It was critical that we worked with partners that shared in our mission to strengthen underserved communities,” said Thomas brown, the vice president of development at Trinity Financial.

If you want to apply for NYC affordable housing opportunities, click here.