Today, Pratt Center's Rebekah Morris joined City Council members and representatives of Chhaya CDC, the Coalition for Community Advancement/Progress East New York, and Cypress Hills LDC on the steps of City Hall to herald the passing of Local Law 1004-A. The bill creates a demonstration pilot to convert basements and cellars in Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood into safe, healthy, and affordable apartments. We have been advocating for a pathway for legal basement conversions for over a decade and we are very excited to see our hard work alongside our community-based partners come to fruition.
The final bill and proposed pilot include a few important improvements based on this collective advocacy:
To learn more, please read the press release (below) announcing the legislation’s passage and/or revisit our testimony from November.