An empty city-owned lot in East Harlem that has long served as parking for the adjacent 25th Precinct will be transformed into a 20-story, 341-unit, $225 million affordable housing development anchored by a cultural center.
“This little patch of land here symbolizes all of the struggles and opportunities of housing in New York City over the last half century,” New York City Comptroller Mark Levine said during a Wednesday groundbreaking attended by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other officials.
The lot on East 119th Street and Park Avenue, Levine said, was formerly home to rundown tenements that were demolished in the 1960s in the name of what he described as “so-called urban renewal,” with new housing promised for the location.
“Part 2 of that plan never happened – this remained vacant for decades,” Levine said.
That’s until now. The new project, Timbale Terrace, is being developed by the nonprofit Lantern Organization in coordination with the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
The cultural center, Casa Belongó, will serve as the permanent home for six-time Grammy winner Arturo O’Farrill’s 19-year-old nonprofit, Belongó (formerly the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance).
“With the right support, Casa Belongó can shape the future of El Barrio,” O’Farrill said in a statement. “We hope to create a welcoming space where this city's diverse communities can gather together as one family."
Belongó’s 20,000-square-foot ground floor facility will feature a performance hall with a capacity of 300, a public balcony, a space for rehearsals, community workshops and music classes, as well as a café and jazz club dubbed Chico’s Corner. It is being designed by the firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which also designed the High Line.
The housing portion will be 100% affordable, with 99 apartments slated for formerly homeless people — a point of controversy in the local community.
Opponents of the project have complained that the area already has a drug problem and houses more than its fair share of supportive housing and services.
Timbale Terrace will also have a garage for police vehicles.
The apartments are set to open to tenants in 2028. Casa Belongó is set to open in 2027.
