SOUTHEAST QUEENS
Habitat Net Zero is a scattered site project, consisting of 10 single-family detached homes and 6 single-family semi-attached homes across Southeast Queens. Habitat Net Zero includes the first new construction properties on the Interboro Community Land Trust, which Habitat NYC and Westchester co-founded to ensure permanent affordability for New York families to build equity, legacy, and sustainable communities.
Thirteen of the homes are new construction, built using prefabricated modular construction, and three are gut rehabilitations of the existing structures. Meeting Enterprise Green Communities Criteria and incorporating Passive House elements, the homes are equipped with rooftop solar panels and highly efficient heat-pump technology for heating and cooling, reducing costs, and keeping the energy use of the homes at or near net zero. By adopting a modular construction method, this project will be a reproducible example of high quality, low energy affordable housing.
With the final modular home installed in April 2024, a new cohort of homebuyers are in the process of closing on their Habitat homes across Cambria Heights, Hollis, Jamaica, South Ozone Park, St. Albans, and Queens Village.
Habitat Net Zero would not be possible without the strong support of our partners and volunteers:
- New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)
- New York City Housing Authority
- New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC)
- Queens Borough President Donovan Richards
- City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams
- Former Council Member Daneek Miller
- The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
- Interboro CLT
- Nonprofit Finance Fund
Before officially closing on the project, the City gave our staff and volunteers special access to the first home to begin pre-construction work – clearing the site, putting up safety fencing, light demolition and more. Thanks to folks from RTW Charitable Foundation, Credit Suisse, LibreMax, ConEdison and ASHRAE we can hit the ground running on our first site.
Thank you to the High School For Construction Trades, Engineering & Architecture (CTEA) and Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT), and all the volunteers for their work on these homes.
