Housing Partnership Recognizes Ebenezer Plaza for Innovation in Affordable Housing

Housing Partnership supporters at 41st Anniversary Gala Luncheon in October, 2024

The Housing Partnership celebrated its 41st anniversary by hosting 240 guests in Manhattan at Gotham Hall on October 23, 2024. The guest speaker Charles Blow, New York Times Columnist, bestselling author, and MSNBC analyst shared his insights on housing affordability and delivered intriguing and thoughtful remarks on the relationship between stable housing and a successful life.

Jamie A. Smarr, Housing Partnership President & CEO, welcoming supporters at the October luncheon

At the event, the Housing Partnership Innovative Project Award was presented to Ebenezer Urban Ministry Center (EUMC) and Ebenezer Plaza by the Partnership’s President and CEO, Jamie Smarr, Chairman of the Board, Ronald Moelis, and Adolfo Carrion, Jr., Commissioner of New York City Housing Preservation and Development. EUMC’s Senior Pastor, Bishop Dr. R. C. Hugh Nelson, the visionary behind Ebenezer Plaza, and the housing development team led by Ericka Keller, CEO of Brisa Builders, were recognized as a successful Model of Excellence in Innovative Affordable Housing in NYC. They harnessed the vision of a faith-based organization to create a thriving, resilient community by addressing housing, economic, social, and environmental needs, leading to long-term positive outcomes for residents and the broader community.

The Ebenezer Plaza project was designed to promote social cohesion and reduce the stigma associated with affordable housing. It is a three-phased community development project and has been recognized by HPD and Enterprise Community Partners as one of the most successful faith-based affordable housing efforts in New York City. In total, the development includes 524 affordable rental units, a 40,000 SF House of Worship, which includes a 1,200-seat sanctuary, along with space for expanded community services such as a soup kitchen, food pantry, educational programs for adults and children, computer training and family counseling. An additional 21,000 SF of commercial space will provide even more services to the Brownsville and Flatbush communities in Brooklyn. It is a joint venture between Brisa Builders, EUMC, Procida Companies, and Evergreen City. Other members of the housing development team included Perkins Eastman Architects, Goldstein Hall, Savage Bozemann Attorneys at Law, National Standard Abstract, Bank of America, New York City Housing Development Corporation, Enterprise Community Partners, National Equity Fund, NYC Housing Preservation and Development, and Council Members Charles and Inez Barron. “Ebenezer” from the Hebrew language means “a place of help,” and we are thankful to EUMC for the decades of help and refuge it has provided to residents of Brownsville. “Thank you for helping us celebrate these achievements and supporting our mission to create more affordable housing opportunities.” In addition, “thanks to the generosity of our stakeholders, the 41st Anniversary Celebration Benefit raised over $250,000, which was directly invested in the Housing Partnership’s Homeownership Counseling and Education program,” said Housing Partnership’s President & CEO, Jamie Smarr.

See more event photos and view our video of the project at housingpartnership.com/luncheon2024

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