Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the city has “restarted” plans to build the Just Home supportive housing development on NYC Health + Hospital’s Jacobi Medical Center campus in the Bronx’s Morris Park neighborhood. He stopped by the site to deliver the news on Jan. 19, a busy Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Standing next to Helen Taylor, a supportive housing advocate, Mamdani pointed to the project as an early victory in his ambitious housing plan. Just Home boasts a planned 83 new apartments, all under affordable housing rates, with more than half going towards supportive housing for formerly incarcerated individuals with significant medical needs. All by repurposing an unused residence hall on the Jacobi campus.
“It feels fitting, frankly, that we are celebrating this progress on the day set aside to remember a man who dedicated his life to fighting for the downtrodden,” said Mamdani. “Because make no mistake, as we reactivate the Just Home Supportive Housing Project, we are not simply creating 83 new apartments and supporting those who are struggling — we are advancing the cause of justice.”
He likened the project to Dr. King’s “Three Evils of Society” speech, which argues “true compassion” goes beyond basic charity like “flinging a coin to a beggar” and requires addressing poverty’s societal root causes. So supportive housing tackles not only shelter but homelessness’s broader contributors like mental health conditions and substance abuse. The model pairs affordable rents with wraparound services including medical care and addiction recovery, often all under the same roof through a nonprofit provider.
“Having my apartment, my very first apartment I ever had in my life, has made a difference in my life today because it is a step closer to fulfilling my mission to live better in life,” added Taylor. “It’s not just a place to live, it’s a tremendous amount of support that may exist. Acknowledging I am a part of a community, my story should not be unique.”
Taylor is regarded as the “mama bear” of the Harlem-based Castle Gardens supportive housing development, which Just Home is modeled after. Reentry service provider, the Fortune Society manages both. But the nonprofit’s president and CEO, Stanley Richards, says Just Home stands out from other supportive housing for formerly-incarcerated people by specifically addressing complex medical needs like cancer and heart disease.
“They don’t need hospitalization, they don’t require hospice care, and they can’t be cared for in-shelter because of the complexity of their medical needs,” Richards told the AmNews. “So this will be a home for some of New York’s most vulnerable people. The difference with Castle Gardens, 63 of those units are for [the] formerly-incarcerated regardless of medical condition.”
Ultimately, Just Home serves as a full-circle moment for Richards, who was himself born in Jacobi Hospital. He went on to become both the first formerly-incarcerated person to both lead the Fortune Society and serve as the first deputy commissioner for the NYC Department of Corrections.
Just Home offers a planned 58 supportive housing units, while the other 24 for-rent apartments will go through the NYC Housing Connect Portal. Local residents making up to 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) will receive preference. The last apartment will house a live-in super. Each unit will be rent-stabilized.
Formerly-incarcerated individuals face higher rates of homelessness. And while the city boasts a Justice Involved Supportive Housing program to develop more projects like Just Home, returning citizens previously struggled with qualifying for broader supportive housing due to a requirement for time spent homeless. The city council passed a bill last year to count time incarcerated in jail and prison toward such a threshold.
The long road home for Just Home stems from opposition due to the project’s plan to house people leaving Rikers Island. Local resistance spurred ex-councilmember Kristy Marmorato’s campaign. She ultimately upset incumbent Marjorie Velázquez in 2023 and became the Bronx’s first Republican elected to office in roughly two decades. Former Mayor Eric Adams also backtracked his support last year, pointing to similar concerns and suggesting moving Just Home near Brooklyn’s Broadway Junction, casting further doubt on the project.
“For too long, this project was stalled by fear-based opposition that treated people as problems instead of the neighbors that they are,” said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams during the press conference. “Restarting Just Home is a statement that our city chooses humanity over exclusion. Supportive housing works. We know it works.”
To be clear, both NYC Health + Hospitals and the Fortune Society will screen potential Just Home candidates. They can apply during incarceration but can only move in after court release. H + H will pick out patients leaving jail with otherwise “nowhere to live” who will go through the Fortune Society’s own screening process afterwards. Most prospective residents are over the age of 55.
The City Council approved the Fortune Society’s proposal for Just Home last fall despite opposition from Marmorato, marking a rare departure from deference usually reserved for the local councilmember on land issues. Soon after, she lost her reelection bid to union organizer Shirley Aldebol and is now out of office after serving just two years. Now, Mamdani’s support will reverse any opposition from the Mayor’s Office held by the Adams administration last year.
Next up, Richards says the Fortune Society will need to handle the 99-year ground lease, which allows tenants to develop on rented property. The nonprofit will also begin fundraising. “Hopefully, by the end of this year, we’ll have closed on Just Home and we’ll have [a] shovel in the ground,” he said.
Bravo Fortune Society and Stanley Richards!