Arverne View 57–17 Shore Front Parkway, Queens

Arverne View is a massive 11 multi-family building, 1,093-unit Mitchell-Lama rental property occupying 13 acres of beachfront property along the Rockaway peninsula in Queens Community Board 14. The complex (formerly known as Ocean Village) began construction in the mid-1950s and was completed in 1974. Given their advanced age, the buildings were already facing physical and financial challenges, and had more than 350 vacant apartments by the time Hurricane Sandy devastated the area in October of 2012.

Features & Amenities

Four laundry rooms, 526 surface parking spaces, two playgrounds, two basketball courts, and several open plazas are included in the amenities. One Senior Center serves the entire complex. An on-site staff of 60 to 70 people, including porters, handymen, leasing, compliance, management, maintenance, and marketing personnel oversee the property. Two Arverne View buildings rise to 19 floors, providing sensational views of Jamaica Bay or the Atlantic Ocean. Two buildings are 11 stories each, and seven (the “townhouses”) are four stories tall. The entire property is wheelchair-accessible and smoke-free. Dogs and cats under 20 pounds are allowed. Residents have a special access area to the beach, secured by an electronic key system.

Currently, the complex has an on-site day care center, a grocery store, and a pizza shop. Approximately 10,000 square-feet of contiguous commercial space—all newly renovated—is yet to be filled. The owners are looking for a strong partner with a viable and sustainable program to occupy that space and they’re hoping to find someone to fill it within the next year. In the interim, they anticipate entering into an agreement with an innovative nonprofit organization that activates vacant retail space for use by artists.

Hurricane Sandy

Sandy turned out to be the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the second-costliest hurricane in United States history // READ MORE

Some Arverne View tenants, misled by their experience remaining in place during the far less damaging Hurricane Irene in 2011, elected to also stay in their apartments when Hurricane Sandy arrived on October 29, 2012. Sandy turned out to be the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the second-costliest hurricane in United States history. For those Arverne View residents who chose to ride it out in place it meant nearly three weeks without power—no electricity, no elevators, no heat, or running water.

New management was just coming on board. L+M Development Partners closed its purchase and refinancing deal with HDC and HPD one week after Sandy hit. In addition to the physical issues and repair needs that already existed at the site, the impact of Sandy was devastating, as described by L+M’s development director, Rick Gropper: “We had five feet of water, no power, the entire electrical infrastructure completely destroyed.” Undeterred, and aided by HDC and the City, L+M went to work.

Arverne View residents who were willing to leave were evacuated into temporary housing. Generators were brought in from as far away as Ohio. The lights went back on. The elevators ran and by mid-December, all tenants had returned.

In the aftermath of Sandy’s fury, Arverne View played a significant part in serving the community. Through a coordinated effort with HPD, the NYC Department of Homeless Services, and L+M, 10 area households displaced by the hurricane were immediately relocated to Arverne View. The development served as one of the largest relief stations on the Rockaway peninsula. A triage center, managed by Doctors Without Borders, was set up. Hot meals were served twice a day, and FEMA and the Red Cross visited the property on a daily basis to check on residents. Large quantities of food and supplies were donated by L+M and its managing agent C&C Affordable Housing, and both warming rooms and cellphone charging stations were set up for residents and non-residents alike.

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The Apartments

Apart from four apartments reserved for superintendents who live and work at the property, all units are restricted to tenants at or below 80 percent AMI (currently $67,100 for a family of four) with at least 25 percent of the units reserved for those who are at or below 60 percent AMI (currently $50,340 for a family of four). Apartments range in size from studios to five bedrooms, and several have balconies.

After Sandy hit, L+M immediately tracked down 10 generators from Ohio and brought them to the site. They worked with The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, HDC, HPD, City Hall, and Con Edison, combining resources to bring power back to the complex within about three weeks.

“We were actually operating on generators until February 2013, which was very expensive,” Gropper noted. “Fortunately, we were covered by flood insurance. We were getting oil deliveries every day—10,000 gallons for each of the generators per week.”

By the time power was restored and tenants were moving back, thanks to the financing provided by HDC, the other repairs were already under way. L+M renovated 1,093 kitchens and bathrooms, gutted bathrooms, put in new outlets, tubs, vanities, and plumbing. They also replaced all boilers, fixed the electrical structure, and re-landscaped the common areas surrounding the site.

One thing Sandy did was allow the developers to rethink the scope of work, adding extensive resiliency measures that had not previously been planned. Generators were placed on the roofs of the mid- and high-rise buildings. A flood barrier was installed along the beach. Drainage was added and all planting and landscaping plans were approached differently as a result.

Improving security was also a focus. The site perimeter was secured with fencing and gates were installed around the property as well as new locks on the building entryways. An intercom system connected to each apartment, and tenants were given key FOBs for electronic access. The new state-of-the-art security and access system also involved the installation of cameras throughout the complex, activity is monitored from a central location and recorded.

In addition to the functional needs of the property, the developers also addressed its aesthetics, working with a firm of design architects to reimagine and transform the Arverne View community. After extensive work to repair and secure the physical integrity of the buildings, they were each painted. Several shades of gray were used, and a wood color was applied to the balconies to provide accent and make the complex look more like a development that belongs by the beach.

The success of all these rehabilitation efforts is evident in the results. 450 vacancies were filled within an eight-month period, and Arverne View stands as a testament to the wisdom of preserving and investing in existing, irreplaceable affordable housing, and the resilience of the Rockaway Community and the City as a whole.

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Arverne View 57–17 Shore Front Parkway, Queens

Features & Amenities

Hurricane Sandy

The Apartments

The Rehabilitation

The Residents of Arverne View

Lola Vaughn

Lillian Moya

Barbara McLean

The Financing Structure

Phase II Financing

The Developers