Community Land Trusts FOR NYC
Community land trusts…
- Keep housing permanently affordable
- Protect Black, brown, and immigrant neighborhoods from the pressures of displacement
- Give communities ownership over land and housing
Community land trusts (CLTs) are on the rise in New York City, with 20 initiatives and counting across all five boroughs.
New Economy Project co-founded and convenes the NYC Community Land Initiative (NYCCLI, pronounced “nicely”), an alliance fostering the growth of CLTs to combat displacement and promote neighborhood-led development. We provide one-on-one organizing support, as well as legal and technical assistance, to grassroots groups seeking to form or expand CLTs. Through our New Economy Loan Fund, we directly invest in this powerful movement for change.
How does a CLT work?
A community land trust (CLT) is a community-led organization that owns and stewards land for the public good.
CLTs bring land into permanent, non-profit, community-controlled ownership, ensuring that land and any development on it serves the needs of the community.
How CLTs can support affordable housing…
A community land trust might own the land under a multifamily rental building or affordable housing cooperative. The CLT makes sure that those apartments can never be converted to unaffordable housing.
How CLTs can make home ownership permanently affordable…
A community land trust makes sure that homes built on top of land it owns can only be purchased and resold at a permanently affordable price.
How CLTs can support community businesses and more…
CLTs aren’t limited to housing—they can also protect community, cultural and green spaces. For instance, a CLT could hold the land under a commercial building, making sure that that space stays affordable for neighborhood small businesses that serve community needs.
Our interactive map showcases the growing network of CLTs across the city.
Our coalition building, policy advocacy, and education fuels this movement:
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The City Reporter: East New York Residents Try Buying Back Their Neighborhood, One Lot At a Time
Debra Ack beamed with pride as she looked at the two-story brown brick warehouse on Jamaica Avenue in East New York.
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Hoodline: East New York Land Trust Buys Warehouse, Aims To Reclaim Block From Market
A century-old warehouse on Jamaica Avenue is getting a new life as the East Brooklyn Liberation Center, after the East New York Community Land Trust closed on a $2.3 million purchase of the 9,500-square-foot building this year. The two-story structure will house the land trust’s main office, space for local organizations, businesses and worker co-ops,…
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The Riverdale Press: COPA Housing Bill Draws Support and Skepticism Ahead of NYC Council Hearing
Dozens of advocates rallied Aug. 13 near City Hall for “COPA Cabana” — a beach-themed event to urge the passage of a controversial housing bill called the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act — ahead of the New York City Council’s Sept. 9 hearing.
How can communities get land?
Policies like COPA—the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act—are critical to advancing community ownership, by making sure that when buildings sell, CLTs and other mission-driven organizations have a first chance to buy. CLTs also need real financial resources to make these purchases—which is why we need robust city and state funding, along with low-cost financing from community development financial institutions (CDFIs), to advance permanently affordable housing. Establishing a public bank for New York City would further fuel this work, by channeling capital at scale to CLTs and other initiatives that strengthen and build wealth in local communities.
Learn more:
Contact us for a workshop or to request support: info@neweconomyproject.org
