Nevins Street Apartments celebrates a year of changing lives by

Ayear ago, Yumedys Gonzalez was one of the more than 22,000 New Yorkers living in a shelter. And like so many, she clung to the dream of one day having her own home.

Nevins Street Apartments, which reopened in May 2022 at 50 Nevis Street in a new 10-story, $72 million downtown Brooklyn development, seemed just right.

“I would stand outside and envision one day living here,” Gonzalez said.

It didn’t take long for her to stop imagining. That spring, she moved into one of its 129 affordable units.

“I love living here because of the peace it gives me, the supportive staff, and how I can be independent,” she said.

As Nevins celebrated the one-year anniversary of its new building, Gonzalez’s experience reflects the positive impact it has had on its residents and the community.

Operated by the Institute for Community Living (ICL), Nevins Street Apartments is a permanent housing program for homeless New Yorkers and those experiencing serious mental health challenges.

ICL has run Nevins for 30 years as a licensed transitional housing facility, according to the city. When it was redeveloped, its single rooms were converted into individual apartments earmarked for those previously housed in Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelters and Office of Mental Health (OMH)-licensed transitional living places.

Nathan Weiser

These new affordable units, coupled with the ICL’s focus on addressing residents’ physical, mental, and social needs—what it calls “whole health” — Nevins offers a unique model for tackling the city’s dual mental health and housing crises.

Central to that effort are Nevins’ 78 units of supportive housing, defined by the city as “affordable housing with supportive social services in place for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.”

There are 82 residents living in Nevins’ supportive housing, including individuals with mental health or substance abuse issues, veterans, young adults who have aged out of foster care, and a handful of families.

Sharon Sorrentino, ICL’s vice president for child, family, and young adult services, said that in the year since Nevins reopened, residents in its supportive housing are happier, healthier, and more independent than they were before moving in.

[Nevins is placed in a neighborhood that has a lot of opportunities for people in terms of getting out, exercising, and eating healthy foods,” Sorrentino said. “In addition to the services we provide, we are also able to link people to things in the community that will help them achieve whole health.”

Nevins’ impact is found in the data.

In the last year, 90% of supportive living residents have not required psychiatric emergency room visits or hospitalization. More than one third are connected to mental health ser- vices, 87% are at reduced risk for substance abuse, and the number of residents seeing a primary care physician has more than doubled.

“Those are really helpful indicators that people are connected to whole health,” Sorrentino said.

Transitioning from a shelter or temporary housing to something more permanent can be challenging. To help in the adjustment, ICL offers residential treatment and support services for six to nine months to ensure individuals are acclimated and settled.

There are no psychiatrists on site, but there are counselors and case managers who can link residents with needed services. Many residents receive in-unit assistance from home health aides and care coordinators. And ICL will help with family reunification. That’s all on top of the amenities you’d expect in new-build housing: 24-hour front desk security, a computer lab, bike parking, a community room, a multi-purpose room, a laundry room, an exercise room, and tenant storage. Like many other parts of Brooklyn, downtown is in the midst of largescale change, from a reimagined branch of the Brooklyn Public Library to skyscraper-scale housing developments to a proposed $40 million overhaul of Fulton Mall. Scaffolding and construction fencing are as common as street vendors and double parking. Nevins Street is part of this overhaul. And it has been welcomed with open arms—and sometimes closed streets for block parties.

“This project represents exactly what we need more of in New York City,” Mayor Eric Adams said at the May 2022 ribbon cutting. It’s a sentiment echoed a year later by city council member Lincoln Restler, who represents downtown Brooklyn.

“This is a model for how we can ensure folks have the resources they need to get on their feet,” he said. Support for housing the previously homeless and those with mental health needs is often cause for contention. The embrace of Nevins and its residents is a happy exception — hopefully not the last — and as important for improving the lives of some of New York’s neediest as having a stable, permanent place to live. “It has been nice to have that sense of community in the area,” Sorrentino said. “‘Whole health’ encompasses everything. It is your physical and mental health care, but also how you connect to the community.”