Amsterdam News, Ariama C. Long, May 1, 2025

The environmental review process for the proposed demolition of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA’s) Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea (FEC) Houses in Manhattan is underway. Tenant organizers and public housing residents protested the demo at last week’s hearings.

The city’s $1.9 billion redevelopment plan is to demolish 24 buildings across seven acres of public housing development land –– one of the largest planned public housing demolitions in the city’s history –– and ideally move back in displaced, primarily Black and brown, Chelsea residents once reconstruction is complete.

The plan was launched in 2019, and the NYCHA Board approved the Master Development Agreement in October 2024. The agreement enacted the Bridge Plan, which was supposed to provide additional security, pest control, building system repairs, and common area and in-unit repairs for the FEC before and during the construction of the new buildings. This will be handled by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and NYCHA.

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At this stage in the process, NYCHA and HPD have released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), which includes a detailed description of the proposed project and its environmental impacts. The DEIS also describes six alternative zoning plans the city could pursue as opposed to demolition.

“The release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement marks the next step in the environmental review process, ensuring that any proposed redevelopment is carried out in a thoughtful and responsible way,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt in a statement. “As this process moves forward, we are excited that we continue to move closer to the ultimate goal of delivering enhancements to 4,500 Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea residents.”

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