Settlement Housing Fund developed the St. John’s Place Family Center in 1990 as an alternative to welfare hotels.  Located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the Center provides excellent temporary housing, day care, infant care, and other services to 97 families, assisting them in their search for affordable housing.  In 1994, we added permanent housing for 33 low-income families in an adjacent building including ten families who relocated from the Center, and in 2004, we opened a new building across the street for 35 families.  Under the leadership of Executive Director Louis Rodriguez and Board Chair Fran Levenson, St. John’s Place is a well regarded 21-year-old neighborhood organization that receives funding for youth and adult programming from both New York City and New York State government agencies, as well as from foundations and corporations.  The agency has a strong track record of working with other community groups in Crown Heights and, for the past ten years, has co-sponsored an annual street festival with community leaders and has provided meeting space for local groups. 

Through the St. John’s Place Family Center, HDFC (Housing Development Fund Corporation), we now plan to gut rehabilitate a vacant, city-owned building located immediately adjacent to its facility. The three-story abandoned building has been an eyesore for more than twenty years.  Once renovated, the structure will serve as a multi-purpose after-school and community center providing program space to school-aged children and adults from the neighborhood, as well as office space for the Center staff.  Construction is scheduled to begin in Fall 2011 with the help of rehabiliation funds awarded by the City of New York, and grant support from The Lavanburg Foundation, The Brooklyn Community Foundation, and National Grid.  

We also received two Article 8A loans from the City to complete energy-efficiency improvements and building repairs at St. John’s Place Family Center and 1610 St. John’s Place. The buildings will receive new heating plants including energy-efficient boilers, hot water heaters and storage tanks; roof replacements and repair of the parapets and copings; masonry repointing (replacing brick mortar) throughout the buildings’ façades; and all new windows.  In addition, we will replace all child guards and concrete walkways and install a centralized surveillance system to provide real-time, web-based surveillance of all public areas.  This work will lower energy costs and improve the comfort and safety of 130 very low-income families, the majority of whom have been homeless.  Construction began in July 2011.    

In March 2011, we successfully renovated the basement of 1615 St. John's Place into office and classroom space that now houses our DREAMS/Youthbuild program.   

Support for these new developments at St. John’s Place was made possible by a Housing for Everyone Grant from TD Charitable Foundation.

Louis Rodriguez, Executive Director

St. John’s Place Family Center

1610 St. John’s Place

Brooklyn, NY 11233

718.771.7720