'Just Home' project heads to the City Council for hearing

The "Just Home" project aims to provide housing to formerly incarcerated individuals with complex medical issues.

Marissa Santorelli

Sep 17, 2025, 10:09 PM

Updated 17 hr ago

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The "Just Home" project at NYC Health + Hospital/Jacobi heads to the City Council for a hearing after two years at a standstill.
The land use proposal will be presented before the City Council at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.
The "Just Home" Project aims to provide housing to formerly incarcerated individuals with complex medical issues. The proposal has been controversial, with community groups holding rallies against it.
"We are at our wit's end. We need someone to hear us, and I feel like they're not hearing us," said Pat Cambria, a longtime Morris Park resident.
Community members told News 12 they were never consulted or looped into the conversation. They said the concept of the project was leaked in 2022. They said it lacked transparency and took the community surprise.
"None of the employees knew ... It was just kept so quiet," said Phyllis Basilone, another longtime Bronx resident.
For the first time since the project was announced, it heads to the City Council for a hearing.
Community members said the project raises major safety issues and will affect the neighborhoods' quality of life.
"Only because it's not safe for our children. We have five schools in the vicinity. It's not fair to the homeowners. It's not fair to our district, because whatever happens in one area is going to affect the other ones," said Irene Estrada, president of the Mothers Against 1900 Seminole Group.
Thursday's hearing will allow the City Council to determine if the project has merit before heading to a vote.
News 12 reached out to the mayor's office for comment.
They said, "The Adams administration has always been about being flexible and responsive enough to deliver real results for New Yorkers. The reality is that the City Council waited nearly two years until now to hold a hearing and vote on this Just Home project because, under its arcane system, the project is opposed by the local Councilmember, which ordinarily would have been the end of the inquiry. Any conversations we’ve had with stakeholders have centered on one question: how do we cut through the politics of this polarizing issue and identify the fastest, most effective ways to provide more affordable housing, as well as supportive housing for these vulnerable New Yorkers? We remain committed to providing such housing and are working to identify locations, here or elsewhere, to do so.”
News 12 also reached out to The Fortune Society, the developer for the proposed housing project.
"This proposal would bring safe, supportive, and permanent housing to formerly incarcerated persons with complex medical needs who would otherwise experience homelessness. It would also provide affordable homes for local community members at a time when rents are skyrocketing and supply is limited. This New York City Council has proven time and again that they are committed to a fair and just city that ensures all communities are treated equally and that supportive housing and affordable housing should meet the needs of New Yorkers and be equitably distributed throughout our city. As the designated developer, manager, and service provider for Just Home, we look forward to the Land Use Committee meeting to discuss plans for this site, which are based on our decades-long, award-winning record of providing permanent, supportive, and affordable housing that becomes a welcome part of the communities in which they are situated. Just Home will not only mirror our other successful initiatives, but it will become a blueprint for this type of housing elsewhere in the city and around the country," the society wrote.