After a luxury building in East New York flopped, the city is taking advantage of a new program to fill it with families who have hard-to-use city housing vouchers.

Tara Gilbert in her apartment. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

Tara Gilbert spent months looking for an apartment with her city-funded housing voucher while living in a Staten Island women’s shelter since January.

She had leads on several apartments throughout the year, only to have them disappear and get rented to someone else.

“It was very frustrating. I was starting to get angry to the point where I was like, damn, am I going to be in shelter for the rest of my life. What is this?” asked Gilbert.

But her fortunes changed this October, when she moved into a new luxury building on Atlantic Avenue in East New York. All 183 units in her building will house voucher holders moving in from one of the city’s shelters.

The project is the result of a “happy accident,” said Rebecca Crimmins, senior vice president for real estate and development at the Institute for Community Living (ICL), which now owns the building.

In 2024, the Jay Group listed one-bedroom apartments in the building for $2,500 to $3,000 a month, and as much as $4,000 for three-bedroom units. But after the developers realized their luxury building didn’t have the demand they expected, they sold it to a nonprofit. 

The Atlantic in Brooklyn, where all 183 apartments are for city voucher holders who were previously living in shelter. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

The nonprofit and the city struck a deal to fill the building with voucher holders enrolled in the City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) program, which provides rental aid to New Yorkers in shelter or at risk of homelessness. Expected revenue from the voucher payments will finance ICL’s mortgage on the building.

City officials are confident the project is replicable. The effort is part of a new program called Affordable Housing Services from the Department of Social Services (DSS) that officials say will help ease the housing crisis by creating more options for voucher holders, whose housing choices are often slim.

“For the first time ever, we are using social service dollars to actually underwrite affordable housing, and it is 100 percent dedicated to those coming out of the shelter system,” said DSS Commissioner Molly Park.

In early October, Gilbert moved into a studio, which she decorated with crafts she made during her months in shelter. 

“Once I got home, I was happy. I was ecstatic,” Gilbert said. The feeling, she said, was “more peace than anything.”

Gilbert’s new kitchen. “I was ecstatic,” she said of moving into the apartment. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

Stiff competition

The CityFHEPS program has grown rapidly in recent years, and has become increasingly vital as the Trump administration pursues cuts to federal programs.

Over 60,000 households, comprising 136,000 people, are currently leased up with a CityFHEPS voucher; they typically pay a third of their income on rent, with the subsidy covering the rest. From July 2024 to June 2025, 37,500 New Yorkers entered the program, more than any year on record, according to DSS.

The budget for CityFHEPS grew five-fold from 2021 to 2025, to over $1.25 billion. “The federal government has essentially abdicated responsibility for growing availability to our rental assistance. The city has very much stepped up,” said Park.

But a frequent criticism of CityFHEPS is that the vouchers are hard to use. Officials hope the Affordable Housing Services initiative will help the city actually build more of the units voucher holders need.

The challenges are numerous. City housing vouchers don’t always pay enough to access the higher rent parts of the city, as City Limits has previously reported. And some landlords discriminate against voucher holders—even though doing so is illegal. 

“That whole process was terrible because a lot of them don’t want to rent to people with vouchers. They got the bad stereotype of what people are coming out of the shelter system,” said Gilbert.

A sign welcoming a new tenant to the building. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

Commissioner Park also pointed to competition in New York’s hot housing market, particularly for apartments with rents low enough for voucher holders. “The hardest part about using a CityFHEPS  voucher is the city has a 1.4 percent vacancy rate. There’s 13,000 households in the shelter system right now, who have what we call a shopping letter, and who haven’t found a place to use their voucher, which is a staggering number of people,” she said.

Some households spend months searching for a place to use their voucher. While DSS does not track search times, Park said, a comptroller’s report found that it took 10 months on average (DSS has disputed the findings of that report).

Affordable Housing Services, Park said, takes that competition out of the process by setting aside units specifically for voucher holders.

Between this Atlantic Avenue project and the Baisley Pond Park hotel conversion, DSS said they are opening 374 units of deeply affordable housing in October using the program, bringing the total number of units funded with the initiative to over 1,000.

Commissioner Park also expects Affordable Housing Services units to have faster lease ups than traditional CityFHEPS application packets, which take about 30 days, according to the agency—because their involvement with the projects helps them plan ahead.

Victor Rivera, 58, who moved into a two-bedroom apartment in the building with his mother Rosa, 88, said it simplified and shortened their stay at a Far Rockaway shelter, where a social worker identified them as a good fit for the new development.

Larger units paired with services

After four months staying together in one cramped shelter room, Rivera and his mother got a spacious two-bedroom in the new building. “Oh, my moms was so happy. I was happy too, because first they said they was gonna give us a one bedroom,” he said.

Rivera and his mother will benefit from support services on site, as well as a full gym, laundry, lounge, and a rooftop. “We’re really excited to be able to provide, you know, wraparound services to a variety of household sizes, including three bedroom units, which are really hard to find at this point in time,” said Crimmins.

One report suggested that as much as 70 percent of subsidized affordable units built citywide under the Adams administration were one- and two-bedroom units. In all, the building has 43 studios, 54 one-bedrooms, 57 two-bedrooms, and 24 three-bedrooms. 

“There’s a place for a lot of different housing options, given that we just don’t have enough places for people to live who have modest means,” said Crimmins. The city’s housing vacancy rate is even lower for units priced at under $1,100, with just 0.4 percent open to renters. 

Commissioner Park pointed to different levels of need, including traditional affordable housing for people with lower incomes, and supportive housing for chronically homeless people with particular health needs, paired with robust services. This building helps fill the void, she said.

“Historically, there hasn’t been anything in between, but we know there are people in between,” said Park.

Opportunistic acquisitions

Not every Affordable Housing Services project will be a luxury building turned into affordable housing, which grew from the Human Resources Administration’s Master Lease program, which set aside 10 percent of units for voucher holders. That program has received support from mayoral candidates like Zohran Mamdani, who says he would expand it if elected.

Affordable Housing Services goes further, funding entire buildings meant for voucher holders.

Park suggested that they were deploying the program tactically. As with The Atlantic, they may acquire newly constructed buildings where developers have pushed the market and may be incentivized to sell. Others might involve distressed buildings that can preserve affordability and have their lives extended through a project-based voucher contract like the one the Affordable Housing Services program offers.

It has yet to be used to finance construction itself—to build for the explicit purpose for housing voucher holders. But officials wouldn’t rule it out as they try to grow the program. Crimmins said that would likely require the city’s housing agency to help finance the project.

“I absolutely believe that it is scalable,” said Park.

Victor Rivera, 58, and his 88-year-old mother moved into a two-bedroom in the building. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

Earlier this year, the Rivera family was renting in Rego Park, paying $2,100 a month for a two-bedroom. When their landlord raised the rent $200, they went to a shelter to seek help, Rivera said.

Rivera, who provides full time care for his mother, said they live on her social security and disability.

“Before, everything was just going to rent,” Rivera said. Now he says they have a little money to get his mother’s hair done, and pay for a home health aide so he can get out of the house more.

The family chef, he said he’s looking forward to cooking Thanksgiving dinner in his new apartment.

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Patrick@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post This Building Was Supposed to be Luxury Apartments. Now It Will House 183 Families From Homeless Shelters appeared first on City Limits.

East metro voters will be asked to weigh in on mayoral races, education levies and open school board seats during the Tuesday, Nov. 4 election.

In Dakota County, voters will cast their ballots to fill several vacant school board seats across three school districts: Hastings, Lakeville and Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan.

Voters also will be making decisions on levy referendums in Farmington, Lakeville and Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan.

The Farmington district is asking for an operating levy that would provide $1,237 per student annually, generating about $8 million per year for 10 years.

Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan voters will be asked to renew and increase an expiring technology capital projects levy.

And Lakeville Area Schools will ask voters to renew an expiring capital projects levy that was first passed in 2015.

RELATED: Voters to decide school levy referendums in Ramsey, Dakota, Washington counties

For complete coverage of area elections, including candidate Q&As, visit twincities.com/elections.

Here’s what you need to know about school board elections in Dakota County.

Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan

Voters in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district, ISD 196, will fill three school board seats from four candidates in the General School Board Election.

Vying for the three seats are: Robin Cerio of Eagan, Leah Gardner of Eagan, Sakawdin Mohamed of Eagan and M. Tracey Plante of Rosemount. The four-year term runs from January 2026 to January 2030.

Cerio, Gardner and Mohamed are currently on the school board with terms expiring Jan. 5.

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Cerio, an Eagan resident of 24 years, was appointed in January to fill the remainder of a vacant term. Cerio’s priorities include closing the achievement gap, celebrating diversity in communities and improving graduation rates, according to her candidate webpage.

A graduate from the University of St. Thomas, Gardner also has first-hand experience serving on the school board after she won a special election race last November. Erasing economic stigmas and supporting students’ mental health are among Gardner’s priorities, according to her candidate webpage.

A father of six who was elected to his first term in 2022, Mohamed is an advocate for increased student mental health support, improved communication between students, teachers and parents and increasing teacher and staff diversity, according to his candidate webpage.

Catherine Diamond, of Eagan, is running unopposed in the district’s Special Election to fill the remaining two years of former board member Sachin Isaacs’s term after his resignation in October 2024.

Diamond, who was appointed to fill the vacancy until an election could be held, is committed to the health and wellness of students and staff, according to her candidate webpage. A mother of three, Diamond is endorsed by 314 Action, an organization committed to electing Democrats with a scientific background to public office.

Lakeville Area Public Schools

Voters in the Lakeville area school district, ISD 194, will elect one of two people to the school board.

Incumbent Brett Nicholson, who was appointed last November to fill a vacant seat due to a resignation, is racing against Tony Reichenberger.

A graduate of the University of Minnesota and a father of two, Nicholson’s priorities include preparing students for STEM careers, diverse perspectives in history curriculum and budget transparency.

As the husband of a kindergarten teacher, Nicholson is also committed to supporting teachers by providing adequate resources and reducing administrative burdens, according to his candidate webpage.

Lakeville resident and father Tony Reichenberger is committed to investing in teachers, collaborating with the community and improving the reputation of the district’s school board, according to his candidate webpage.

Reichenberger, who works for an AI company, also believes students should learn in a way that does not rely on technology.

“Reliance on technology, inside and outside of the classroom, before comprehending facts and functions only trains our children to push buttons, not learn,” Reichenberger said on his webpage.

Hastings Public Schools

Voters in the Hastings school district, ISD 200, will choose from three candidates in a Special Election to fill a vacant school board seat.

Jenny Wiederholt-Pine, 44, from Miesville, Minn. (Courtesy of Charlie Wiederholt)

The seat was formerly held by Jenny Wiederholt-Pine, who died in February. Wiederholt-Pine, of Miesville, was a district soccer coach, restaurant co-owner, an avid equestrian, wife, mother, daughter and friend.

“Jenny was a dedicated public servant, and her loss is deeply felt throughout our community,” said LynDee Humble, an elections clerk with the school district.

The three candidates running for the board seat are: Elaine K. Mikel-Mulder, Simone Rendon and Marty Weber, who has since withdrawn from the election.

“My name is still on the ballot, but there are still two other candidates. Do not vote for me. Please vote for them,” Weber wrote on Facebook last month.

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Mikel-Mulder, who was elected this spring to fill the remainder of Weiderholt-Pine’s term until January, is a supporter of classical education and believes classrooms should be filled with problem-solving opportunities and project-based content as much as possible, according to her candidate webpage.

Simone Rendon, a mother, foster parent and artist in Hastings, said in a post on Facebook that her priorities include respecting and caring for teachers, strategically utilizing the budget and listening to community members.

Rendon, who is Ojibwe and Lakota, said, “I am running for school board because I want to be able to send the children who live with me to a public school that is truly for the public, open and welcoming to all students.”

The term will run from Jan. 5, 2026 until Jan. 1, 2029.

By JACK DURA, Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities were liable for defamation and other claims brought by a pipeline company in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.

The award is roughly half the $667 million that a jury previously had awarded to the company, Dallas-based Energy Transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access.

State District Judge James Gion granted and denied Greenpeace requests to rule in its favor on various claims before recalculating the damages.

Energy Transfer said it intends to appeal the verdict “as we firmly believe that the original jury findings and damages awards for conspiracy and defamation are lawful and just.”

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The lawsuit stems from protests nearly a decade ago against the Dakota Access oil pipeline and its crossing of the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation. The case would go next to the North Dakota Supreme Court.

In March, a nine-person jury found Netherlands-based Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc. liable for defamation and other claims brought by Energy Transfer.

The jury found Greenpeace USA liable on all counts, including conspiracy, trespass, nuisance and tortious interference with business relations. The other two entities were found liable for some of the total claims.

Damages totaled $666.9 million, divided in different amounts among the three Greenpeace organizations, who earlier planned to appeal.

The pipeline company accused Greenpeace of carrying out a scheme to stop the pipeline. Greenpeace attorneys said there was no evidence to back up the pipeline company’s claims.

Since the verdict, attorneys for the Greenpeace entities asked the judge to reduce the damages and to undo the verdict in their favor. Energy Transfer asked the judge to enter the judgment the jury found.

The lawsuit was filed in 2019 and went to trial earlier this year in state district court in Mandan, North Dakota.

In September, the judge denied a request from the pipeline company to stop Greenpeace International from continuing with an anti-intimidation lawsuit it filed in the Netherlands.

For more than 50 years, the independent film company Troma Studios has produced low-budget, underground horror movies like “The Toxic Avenger” that served as a playground for some of today’s biggest names in film. On Halloween, this legacy will be celebrated by Twin Cities musician, journalist and 89.3 The Current radio host Chaz Kangas on his new hip hop album.

Twin Cities based musician, journalist and rapper Chaz Kangas will release his horror-homage album “The Troma Project: 50 Years of Reel Fan-Toxic Hip Hop” on Halloween. The album features local and national artists while pulling sound directly from the films of Troma Studios. (Courtesy of Bump Opera)

Featuring musicians from across the country and sounds pulled directly from Troma Studios’ most recognizable films, Kangas’ “The Troma Project: 50 Years of Reel Fan-Toxic Hip Hop” will be released on Halloween.

“I’ve always had a love of the company,” Kangas said. “They were really sort of what made me a film obsessive.”

The album creates a soundscape made up entirely of audio pulled from Troma films, a collaboration blessed by studio founder Lloyd Kaufman.

“Knowing that it was Troma’s 50th anniversary and always being a fan of concept albums and projects, I pitched the idea to Lloyd, (to) sample some of the movies from Troma’s 50-year history to make entirely new songs,” Kangas said.

Troma Studios is North America’s oldest independent film studio, opened in 1974 by Kaufman and Michael Herz. The studio cultivated a community with its cult classics “The Toxic Avenger” and its subsequent sequels, as well as “Tromeo and Juliet,” which was co-written by “Superman” director James Gunn. Kaufman blends comedy and commentary in his films, including the “Class of Nuke ‘Em High” trilogy and “Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD.”

“It seems that whoever has worked for Troma, they all look back on it as a kind of film school or something,” Kaufman said. “I think we’ve infused a lot of young people with the notion of, ‘To thine own self be true.’ And that’s certainly true of Chaz Kangas.”

Kangas, as a fan of the studio and Kaufman himself, met the director and studio founder at a fan convention in his teenage years and has remained in contact since.

“It stands out quite well,” Kaufman said. “I was signing books in Minneapolis, and he and his parents showed up. And he was very articulate and full of dreams and full of energy. I saw he was unique immediately and, luckily, we kept in touch with each other, and it resulted in this album.”

The 11-song album features musicians from across the country as well as local artists like hip hop artist Desdamona, who is featured on the album’s single, “Girls School Screamers,” a female-led slasher-inspired beat.

Twin Cities MC Christopher Michael Jensen is also rapping on the album’s “Choices of a Different Path.” Having known Kangas for nearly a decade, Jensen said he was excited to get to work on such a concept-based album.

“There’s definitely a quality about it that’s unique just because you can tell the samples in it are not typical fair for a hip hop type album,” Jensen said. “Every song has some kind of reference to Troma.”

Another musician, Conner Sloat (also known as Bald Halfwit), described working on the album as a different creative avenue.

“I’m really glad that the opportunity arose because I got to create really awesome music that was outside of what I’m used to,” Sloat said.

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Paying homage to the film and horror influences of Troma, the album’s cover was designed by Four Finger Distro founder and musician Jeep Ward, also known as DJ Halo.

“It feels like a straight-up and down hip hop project, in the sense of hip hop specifically as an art form and production style that is sample-based and uses other people’s work to make something new,” Ward said. “I hope this project shows people that DIY is still alive and well, and if you really want to do something, you’ll do it.”

The album will be released digitally Friday and distributed by Four Finger Distro, a record label that centers community-based musicians. Physical media, such as CDs and vinyl records, will also be available for purchase.

“It’s been a labor of love and, you know, I’m super happy with the final project,” Kangas said.