Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC), Camber Property Group, and the NYC Department of Social Services (DSS) celebrated the opening of Robert C. Wood Apartments, a $100 million, eight-story building located in Far Rockaway, Queens.
The project replaces three vacant buildings that were acquired by Camber and BRC in April 2022. The residential side of the building contains 125 studios, 9 one-bedroom, and 13 two-bedroom apartments. Of the studios, 88 units are supportive housing reserved for formerly homeless individuals. All apartments are affordable to households earning between 30 and 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).
“The Robert C. Wood Apartments project is more than just an affordable housing project, it is an innovative new community and home for New Yorkers who need it the most,” said Rick Gropper, Founding Principal at Camber Property Group. “Thanks to our partnership with BRC, we are able to provide much-needed affordable housing as well as shelter space and community services focused on recovery. We look forward to being a fixture in this community for decades to come.”
“This tremendous project marks another important step in our ongoing efforts to transform the shelter system and aggressively expand the creation of supportive housing in New York City,” said Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park. “With the opening of this site, we look forward to building on our long-standing partnership with BRC which has helped countless individuals get back on their feet and secure long-term housing stability. To see the realization of our investments in innovative models that continue to raise the bar is incredibly gratifying and reinforces our commitment to embracing bold ideas that reimagine the city’s housing ecosystem for vulnerable New Yorkers.”
Resident amenities at the building include full-time security and maintenance staff, social service programming space, a community room, outdoor recreational space, bike storage, building-wide WiFi and a laundry room. The project is financed in partnership with Citibank, Freddie Mac, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Supportive Housing Loan Program, and the New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) NonProfit Owned initiative. The building was designed by UAI, constructed by Fifth Ave Builders, and won the 2025 NYC Brownfield Partnership Award for Sustainable Building Design.
The shelter component, with its own dedicated space and entrance, was financed through a Credit Tenant Lease (CTL) with the New York City Department of Homeless Services.
“Today, alongside Camber Property Group, we dedicate BRC’s newest permanent supportive housing program to honor the memory and legacy of Dr. Robert C. Wood, a man who spent his life championing the needs of the underserved,” said Muzzy Rosenblatt, Chief Executive Officer and President of Bowery Residents’ Committee. “The Robert C. Wood Apartments and the Wanda Patterson Women’s Residence exemplify the passion, dedication, and innovation that are core of BRC’s work as we strive to implement solutions that will help vulnerable New Yorkers create pathways from homelessness to home. This project would not have been possible without exemplary government partners like NYC DSS for investing in housing subsidies and NYC HPD for providing capital.”
This project is another step in BRC and Camber’s ongoing efforts to develop and preserve affordable housing, for New York’s most in need, in Queens and throughout New York City. Most recently, Camber opened the lottery for the homeownership component at Stevenson Square, a $1 billion affordable housing development project in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx. The buildings will bring 58 units of 100 percent affordable co-op units to the neighborhood, developed in partnership with Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester County. In Brooklyn, Camber and the Institute for Community Living (ICL) recently closed on a nearly $100 million transaction to convert a vacant residential building into “The Atlantic,” a permanent supportive housing community at 2886 Atlantic Avenue in the Cypress Hills neighborhood. In late summer 2025, BRC will open the Inwood Women’s Shelter, a 116-bed shelter for single women in Upper Manhattan, as well as close on the financing and begin constructing a 189-unit permanent affordable housing complex in the Bronx. Additional projects in BRC’s pipeline include a shelter for families and children in Queens, and a housing and community center in Manhattan.
