Last week, Bridge Street Development Corporation, a community development nonprofit based in Bedford Stuyvesant, unveiled Joshua Court at 300 Putnam Avenue. This completely renovated 52 unit Section 8 building had been abandoned by its previous owner, leaving tenants without basic services or security. Not only decaying, the building became a major source of crime and drug activity, marring this otherwise beautiful stretch of Putnam Avenue between Nostrand and Marcy.

With support from the Brooklyn Community Foundation and our Community Development Fund, Bridge Street worked with activist tenants, public officials, and government agencies to completely renovate this building--including adding cutting-edge 'green building' elements like rooftop solar panels and a sitting garden. The Partnership to Preserve Affordable Housing--a coalition of housing organizations started several years ago with start-up (and now ongoing) funding from the Foundation – was also a key collaborator with Bridge Street in the tenant organizing and advocacy necessary to get the project done.

The Partnership's public policy work helped change the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's approach to abandoned and/or deteriorated privately owned Section 8 buildings, facilitating Bridge Street's ability to take control of the building, finance its redevelopment, and celebrate its rebirth in Bedford Stuyvesant. Read the complete story here. Learn more about recent Brooklyn Community Foundation funded Community Development projects.