A controversial supportive housing project in the Bronx is moving forward after being stalled for months over safety concerns and political opposition.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Monday that the Just Home housing project will be built on the campus of NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, creating 83 units of supportive housing for formerly incarcerated New Yorkers with complex medical needs.
The project was put on hold in September after objections from then-local Councilwoman Kristy Marmarato and the Adams administration.
What You Need To Know
Mayor Zohran Mamdani says the 83-unit Just Home supportive housing project will move forward on the Jacobi Hospital campus
The project was stalled last year after opposition from local officials and safety concerns from critics
Housing will serve formerly incarcerated New Yorkers with serious medical needs, including cancer and heart failure
The Fortune Society will screen tenants, excluding anyone deemed a current risk of violence
Critics raised concerns about safety and pushed to relocate the development elsewhere. Mamdani said Monday the project will proceed as originally planned.
“We are not simply creating 83 new apartments and supporting those who are struggling. We are advancing the cause of justice,” Mamdani said.
The housing will serve formerly incarcerated New Yorkers with serious medical conditions, including cancer, cirrhosis and congestive heart failure.
The Fortune Society, which will develop and operate the project, will screen all potential tenants.
Officials said anyone deemed to pose a current risk of violence or found inappropriate for the housing model will not be accepted.
“Just Home is about dignity. It’s about recognizing that seniors who are experiencing incarceration and homelessness deserve the same safety, same stability and respect as any other New Yorker,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said.
City Councilwoman Sandy Nurse said supportive housing plays a critical role in preventing repeat offenses.
“Putting people in a safe, stable environment — a warm bed, a roof over their head — is one of the key ways to prevent recidivism,” Nurse said.
Mamdani framed the project’s revival as part of a broader shift in city policy.
“My sincere belief is that soon Just Home will be seen as clear evidence of New York’s commitment to a new era where every one of our neighbors, even those who have made mistakes in their past, is entitled to dignity and safety and to a home they can call their own,” he said.