CHLDC is a co-developer of Chestnut Commons, a housing complex in Cypress Hills that will bring an additional 274 units of permanently and deeply affordable housing, much-needed neighborhood retail space and full-service community center, including a performing arts center, kitchen incubator and a satellite college campus of Kingsborough Community College.

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The Chestnut Commons project aims to enhance service to low-income individuals in Cypress Hills/East New York in a variety of ways. The development will be located in the heart of CHLDC’s historic catchment area. It will also lie in the center of a commercial corridor that the Mayor’s Office rezoned in 2016 (the first neighborhood to be affected under Bill de Blasio’s ambitious rezoning plan). It will sit at the junction of a brand new 1,000 seat school and a 1,100 unit large scale development by Phipps Houses. It is a strategic site with incredible potential impact on the low-income families of the neighborhood.

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Most importantly, the Chestnut Commons development will create a significant new community asset: a comprehensive Cypress Hills/East New York Community Center. This community center will serve as CHLDC’s program hub within the Chestnut Commons development. It will enable CHLDC to consolidate many of our current offices in one building. It will meet the needs of the East New York community by becoming a focal point for workforce development and education, an oasis of urban agriculture, healthy eating and greenery, a hub of arts and cultural resources, and a dynamic gathering place for community building.