640 Riverside Drive

About the project

Since 1973, Urban Homesteading Assistance Inc. (U-HAB) has been advocating for the homeownership rights of longtime New Yorkers by providing resources and training to help tenants cooperatively govern and operate their own buildings. Since its inception, U-HAB has assisted in the preservation of more than 1,600 buildings and created homeownership opportunities for more than 30,000 households.

U-HAB is headquartered in New York City, NY.

LISC provided $500,000 in predevelopment financing to assist with the 640 Riverside Drive project, a 133-unit apartment building formerly foreclosed by the City of New York. U-HAB has been working with the residents of 640 Riverside to complete a rehabilitation of the building and convert it to a Housing Development Fund Corporation cooperative style of management, which over 75% of the residents support. In addition to advancing opportunities for homeownership, the project will also ensure the long-term affordability of the building, with the majority of residents in the building paying below 80% of AMI, and outsider units targeted at 110% AMI.