Attorney General James, IMPACCT Brooklyn, HCR, and HPD Preserve Affordable Housing in Central Brooklyn

September 16, 2026

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James, IMPACCT Brooklyn (IMPACCT) Executive Director Jamal Clayton Robinson, New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas, and New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Dina Levy today announced that they have saved four buildings comprising 57 affordable housing units in Brooklyn. IMPACCT is also pursuing funding to renovate these buildings to ensure a safe environment for tenants. The buildings were previously owned by Food First HDFC, Inc. (Food First), a charitable nonprofit organization that attempted to sell the buildings to a commercial purchaser to resolve their debts, in violation of state law.

To preserve the affordable units and allow tenants to remain in their homes, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) intervened in Food First's bankruptcy proceeding to ensure IMPACCT, a charitable nonprofit affordable housing developer and community development corporation, could purchase and operate the four buildings rather than a purchaser with no previous affordable housing management experience. As the new owner and manager of the buildings, IMPACCT will oversee the complete rehabilitation of the four properties and will ensure that all 57 units remain affordable.

"All New Yorkers deserve access to safe and affordable housing," said Attorney General James. "During a time of great uncertainty and distress for these tenants, I am proud that my office was able to negotiate a sale that allows them to remain in their affordable homes. Thank you to IMPACCT and our partners at HCR and HPD for stepping in to help preserve dozens of units of affordable housing for Bed-Stuy. My office will continue to stand up for tenants and guarantee the right to safe and affordable housing for all New Yorkers."

Food First is a charitable nonprofit affordable housing developer that primarily works in central Brooklyn. Food First previously owned four affordable housing developments in Bed-Stuy: 201 Pulaski Street (201 Pulaski), a nine-unit building; 709 Lafayette Avenue (709 Lafayette), a 24-unit building; 327 Franklin Avenue (327 Franklin), a 16-unit building; and 335 Franklin Avenue (335 Franklin), an eight-unit building.

In April 2024, the Legal Aid Society notified OAG that Food First intended to auction its four buildings for sale without seeking HCR, HPD, or OAG approval of the purchaser, as required by law. After meeting with the proposed purchaser and finding they had no experience with affordable housing management, OAG, HCR, and HPD informed Food First that the sale could not proceed.

Food First then filed for bankruptcy in the Eastern District of New York, seeking to liquidate their entire portfolio, including 201 Pulaski, 709 Lafayette, 327 Franklin, and 335 Franklin. A trustee was appointed during bankruptcy proceedings and charged with liquidating Food First's assets, including selling the four buildings. The trustee proposed selling the buildings to the same developer OAG, HCR, and HPD had previously deemed unacceptable.

The OAG intervened in bankruptcy proceedings to propose a charitable purchaser that would preserve the units as affordable housing. The OAG asked representatives of the four buildings' tenants at The Legal Aid Society (Legal Aid) and Legal Services NYC (Legal Services) to identify an appropriate charitable purchaser, ultimately securing IMPACCT to take over ownership and management of the buildings.

IMPACCT is a Brooklyn-based charitable nonprofit affordable housing developer and community development corporation whose mission is to build, restore, and preserve affordable quality housing in Central Brooklyn. The OAG was able to convince the trustee to abandon a sale to both the original developer from the previous auction and another separate developer that it had proposed subsequently, and to instead accept IMPACCT as the purchaser.

As a result of IMPACCT's purchase of 201 Pulaski, 709 Lafayette, 327 Franklin, and 335 Franklin, all tenants will be able to remain in their homes, and all 57 units will remain affordable for at least another 30 years. HCR is financing the acquisition with a loan of $3 million to enable IMPACCT to purchase the buildings - financing that requires all units to be reserved for low- and moderate-income tenants. HPD will support funding for the complete rehabilitation of all four buildings to ensure a safe environment for all tenants.

"Within each of these 57 units is a family that now has the assurance that their home is secure, made possible by the unwavering support of Attorney General James, HCR, and HPD," said Jamal Clayton Robinson, Executive Director of IMPACCT Brooklyn. "For more than 60 years, our mission has been to keep residents rooted in the communities they call home. IMPACCT remains committed to keeping that promise and ensuring Brooklyn families can stay and thrive in the borough they've built."

"HCR not only finances the creation of affordable housing - we also invest in preserving the assets that we have," said New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas. "HCR's $3 million investment to secure the affordability of four Brooklyn walk ups on Franklin and Lafayette avenues, as well as Pulaski Street, not only means 57 individuals and families will be able to stay in their homes, but it will ensure these century-old multi-family buildings will be maintained and continue to be a vital part of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Thank you to the New York State Office of the Attorney General, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, The Legal Aid Society, and IMPACCT - but most importantly to the residents of these properties who fought to make this day a reality."

"All tenants have a right to safe, stable housing, regardless of who owns their building," said New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Dina Levy. "We are proud to have worked with the Attorney General's office and our partner agencies to ensure that these 57 apartments will remain affordable, and that IMPACCT will work to ensure that these properties are rehabilitated and maintained."

"IMPACCT Brooklyn's purchase of this bankruptcy portfolio is an incredible victory for the tenants who live in these buildings, including our clients at 327 Franklin Avenue," said Rachel Nager, a housing attorney with Legal Services NYC's Tenant Rights Coalition in Brooklyn. "For years, these tenants have endured horrific living conditions and fought tirelessly in housing court for basic repairs. Now, they can welcome a new owner committed to preserving affordable housing and making long-overdue repairs and renovations that will allow tenants to live safely and with dignity."

"We are grateful to Attorney General James, IMPACCT Brooklyn, HCR, and HPD for working together to ensure that tenants can remain safely and securely in their homes," said Yaniv Kot, Staff Attorney in the Housing Justice Unit-Group Advocacy at The Legal Aid Society. "The families and individuals who call these buildings home have long fought for greater housing stability and the promise of much-needed improvements to their homes. We are proud to have advocated alongside tenants to help achieve this important outcome."

This is the latest action taken by Attorney General James to protect New York tenants. In July 2026, Attorney General James settled with a Brooklyn-based management company and its property manager for illegally evicting people from their homes by changing the locks on their apartment doors while they were not home. In June 2026, Attorney General James announced settlements with two banks and lawsuits against two New York City landlords, the first reached under OAG's compliance program focused on enforcing "de facto" rent stabilization in buildings throughout New York City. In May 2026, Attorney General James secured an agreement to close a predatory law firm for taking advantage of New York City tenants facing eviction. In March 2026, Attorney General James announced new protections for 25 low-income families who were forced out of their affordable housing units in Rochester. In February 2026, Attorney General James sued the owners and managers of an apartment complex in Orange County for leaving residents to endure horrific conditions. In December 2025, Attorney General James announced a settlement with Steven Kashanian and BlueSky for violating city construction codes and creating unsafe and unsanitary conditions for hundreds of tenants.

This matter was handled for OAG by Housing Protection Unit Chief Brent Meltzer and Assistant Attorneys General Linda Heinberg and Nelida Lara, both of the Charities Bureau. The Housing Protection Unit and the Charities Bureau are a part of the Division for Social Justice, which is overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux.