Breaking Ground offers affordable housing for low-income working professionals and people exiting homelessness, some of whom live with HIV/AIDS, mental illness, or physical disabilities. In addition, most of our buildings offer a wide array of on-site support services, recreational activities, and amenities.
Below, you can browse through all of our buildings and filter by various categories, including by which buildings are currently accepting applications to join the waiting list. If a building is accepting applications, you'll be able to download a PDF application to print, fill out, and mail back with required information and attachments. All affordable units have specific income requirements that can vary from building to building - you must fill out a separate and specific application for each building to which you are applying.
If you would like to have paper applications mailed to you, please call our Central Intake line at 800.324.7055 and leave a message (please remember to speak slowly and clearly) with your name, current mailing address, and which buildings you would like to receive applications for. You may also contact Leasing via email with any questions or to request paper applications be mailed to you.
If you are currently without housing please call 311 to receive assistance with emergency housing, or learn more at the NYC Department of Homeless Services.
Breaking Ground residences feature amenities such as community and performance spaces, exercise rooms, computer labs, rooftop or courtyard garden spaces, and on-site laundry facilities. Our supportive studio apartments are typically fully furnished and provide a private bath, and a kitchenette with cooking facilities and a refrigerator. Apartments in our all-affordable buildings are not typically furnished. Property management and social service staff are located on-site during normal business hours and 24-hour security is featured in all buildings.
If you would like to have paper applications mailed to you, please call our Central Intake line at 800.324.7055 and leave a message (please remember to speak slowly and clearly) with your name, current mailing address, and the building applications you would like mailed to you. You may also contact Leasing via email with any questions or to request paper applications be mailed to you.
To download an application, please click on the building that you are interested in above, and use the Download An Application button on the next screen.
Once you complete your application(s), attach all documents and mail to:
Breaking Ground
Central Intake Unit
520 Eighth Avenue, Suite 2100
New York, NY 10018
Please note: If you are currently homeless, or assisting an individual who is currently homeless, please see For Social Workers below.
In order to view the applications, you will need an up-to-date version of a PDF-reading software, such as Adobe Reader. You can download it at no cost here. If you’re still having trouble, you may call the Central Intake Hotline at 1.800.324.7055 to request that an application be mailed to you. Please remember to speak slowly and clearly, state your full name, and your full mailing address.
Most units in Breaking Grounds permanent housing sites are studios, with private baths and kitchenettes. The Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence, The Lenniger Residences, The Domenech, 40 Riverside, 10 Freedom Place, and Park House offer different unit sizes but additional residency restrictions may apply. Please review each building’s application for more information.
Because of the high-demand for our housing, we cannot keep model apartments open at our buildings or give tours to prospective applicants. However, applicants are shown units at the beginning of the interview process. You can also view building photos in the “additional photos” section on each building's individual page.
Breaking Ground sites offer an outstanding range of amenities and services to our tenants. 24-hour security personnel, superintendents and maintenance teams staff all of our buildings. Amenities vary from building to building, but most sites include social service and recreational programming staff, on-site laundry facilities, fitness rooms, contemplative outdoor spaces, and computer labs.
To learn more about the amenities at our buildings, please visit the individuals building pages above.
Typically, all studio apartments in Breaking Ground's supportive buildings are fully furnished. Most units include an efficiency kitchen, table, chairs, dresser and a bed.
For our buildings that provide exclusively affordable apartments (this includes 40 Riverside and Park House), the units will typically not come with furnishings.
Furniture provided by Breaking Ground at The Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence, The Prince George, and The Times Square may be placed in storage if you wish to furnish the apartment yourself. However, furnishings provided at other buildings cannot be removed, and additional furniture cannot be added.
For buildings that do not have furnished units (40 Riverside, 10 Freedom Place, and Park House) you may bring in your own furniture.
One pet per unit (subject to size/weight restrictions) is allowed at The Times Square, The Prince George and The Domenech. No pets are allowed at our other sites.
Breaking Ground houses a diverse population, and is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for all of our tenants. Our building tenants include the formerly homeless, low-income individuals, performers and artists, people who are living with mental illnesses or physical disabilities, seniors, and people living with HIV/AIDS.
Breaking Ground conducts the intake process in accordance with federal fair housing laws and applicable state and local regulations. Applicants are evaluated on the basis of their ability to abide by the terms of our lease. Factors such as history of financial obligations, employment history, legal history and acceptance of building diversity are all considered when determining whether to offer an applicant housing. At no point in the application process are you guaranteed an apartment until you have signed a lease and received the keys.
If your client is homeless and living in a shelter or receiving services through a drop-in center, he or she may be eligible for placement into one of our units reserved for homeless individuals. In order to be eligible for one of these units, the individual's case manager must submit a referral packet to the Department of Homeless Services (DHS)’s Supportive Housing Placement & Vacancy Control Unit.
If your client is receiving services from the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA), he or she may be eligible for housing. All HASA applications must be submitted to our social service partners, the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS), via the HASA Housing Web.
If your client is currently street homeless, in a shelter, or receiving services from the Office of Mental Health, please contact the CUCS Housing Resource Center at 212.801.3333 for information on housing options and assistance with the housing application process.
If you are located in New York City, you can learn more about emergency housing options available through the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) by calling 311.