In January of 2020, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition founded the Bronx Community Land Trust. The stated mission of Bronx CLT is to, “build and preserve safe, healthy, and deeply affordable housing for the borough’s racially and economically diverse residents as well as accessible commercial, industrial, and green spaces.

The Bronx CLT advances community leadership, shared wealth, and collective governance over our Bronx land to create long-term sustainability, responsible planning, and equitable development that prevents displacement and gentrification.” The Bronx CLT has identified 26 vacant properties in the Bronx wishing to be brought under the CLT, and are actively working towards bringing this land under the CLT. Find out more here.

Founded in 1997, the stated mission of the Mary Mitchell Center is to, “improve the lives of youth and families living in the Crotona section of the Bronx through programs that expand opportunities, develop leadership, and build community.” Owning several properties within Crotona, the Center created La Familia Verde, a coalition of gardens in the Crotona, East Tremont, and West Farms neighborhoods of The Bronx, in 1998. The Center is currently pursuing to bring more properties and homes within a CLT model. Find out more here.

Founded in 1993, the mission of Nos Quedamos is a commitment to, “our [the community’s] collective self-determination.” As a South Bronx-based CDC, the coalition is dedicated to the creation of a Community Land Trust for the South Bronx. As of 2023, the organization is yet to hold land, yet their mission stands: “We Stay, We Welcome, We Build.” Find out more here.

Founded in 2015 by the coalition South Bronx Unite, the Mott Haven-Port Morris Community Land Stewards mission statement is to, “acquire and hold in perpetuity real property to ensure that community members preserve a stake in a neighborhood profoundly impacted by decades of environmental injustice and economic neglect.” A major campaign for the organization is to convert the currently vacant, publicly-owned Lincoln Detox Center, “into a center for health (H), education (E) and the arts (ARTS) – H.E.ARTS,” to which the organization has created a feasibility report. Find out more here.

Founded in 2022, the purpose of Northern Manhattan CLT is to “create sustainable, affordable, and community-controlled housing while allowing residents to become financially stable.” The goal of the organization thus far is to "improve the collective life of the community by fostering the holistic cultural and economic development of people and organizations, and of the environment" as well as "anchor working class people, immigrants, and people of color against displacement." As of 2023, the organization is yet to hold land in New York City. Find out more here.

Founded in 2014, the East Harlem/El Barrio CLT’s stated mission is, “to develop and preserve community-controlled, truly and permanently affordable housing, commercial, green and cultural spaces,” in the neighborhood. Further, the organization targets low-income to extremely low-income residents as prioritized beneficiaries of the land trust.

In 2020, Land Trust became the first CLT across New York City to win publicly-owned land. Following the purchase of four buildings for $1 each from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the Land Trust partnered with Banana Kelly and Community Assisted, Tenant Controlled Housing (CATCH) to convert the developments into tenant-run, permanently affordable dwellings. Following the construction and conversion process, the four buildings will be utilized as 38 permanently affordable apartments and 3 affordable commercial and community spaces. Sixteen of the properties will be available to residents at-or-below 35% of the area median income, and four of the properties will be reserved for people transitioning from homelessness.

East Harlem/El Barrio CLT continues to advocate for other community land-oriented policies such as public land disposition, the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), abolishing the NYC tax lien sale, and deepened city affordability requirements. Find out more here.

Founded in 1991, the Cooper Square CLT is the oldest community land trust in New York City. Located in the historic Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, the Cooper Square CLT’s stated mission is to, “protect the homes, small businesses, and community spaces within our service area against land speculation and support the very fabric of a neighborhood where residents have been traditionally disenfranchised by both disinvestment and gentrification.”

The CLT is a steward for two projects: the Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association (CSMHA II) and the Two Buildings Tenants United (TBTU). The CSMHA was formed in 1995. It consists of 21 buildings, with 328 units, permanently affordable to low-income residents. The TBTU is a recent project for Cooper Square CLT. In 2019, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) approached Cooper Square to take over the two rent-stabilized buildings, with 18 units each, in order to avoid foreclosure. Cooper Square CLT began to also provide renovations to the existing conditions for tenants and continues to assist tenants’ needs within the TBTU. Find out more here.

Founded in 2019, as a part of the New York City Community Land Initiative’s $750,000 budget awarded by New York City Council, Chinatown CLT is an educational campaign to raise awareness of the concept of a Community Land Trust for the Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan. The initiative’s mission, led by the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation (CPLDC), is, “an extension of a longer history of efforts to establish a CLT in Chinatown…to preserve affordability and authenticity for the neighborhood.” The collective organizers continue to build a coalition with advocates, such as CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, to bring land into a CLT in Chinatown. Find out more here.

Founded in 2019, the Western Queens CLT is a collective of activists, small business owners, professors, artists, students, and community residents demanding, “democratic and equitable land use in Western Queens.” The ongoing campaign project for the organization to convert a 600,000-square-foot, publicly owned Department of Education building in Long Island City into a Community Land Trust. The site, once planned as the Amazon HQ2, was visited by the organization as well as Bagchee Architects to develop a feasibility study for the project along with thorough community engagement for local buy-in. The campaign is ongoing. Find out more here.

Founded in 2000, Chaaya CDC was established to, “to address the housing and economic needs for low-income South Asian and Indo-Caribbean New Yorkers.” The organization prioritizes services to homeowners and tenants to ensure protections and avoid displacement. However, in 2019, the organization began advocating for the creation of a CLT in Jackson Heights, Queens to, “preserve community space and commercial affordability for small businesses in Jackson Heights, and to prevent home foreclosures.” As of 2023, the project is ongoing. Find out more here.

Founded in 2020, the stated mission of Brooklyn Level Up is to ensure that, “homes, businesses, and community spaces to belong to the people who use them,” within the Flatbush and East Flatbush neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Further the organization works to maximize BIPOC entrepreneurs' access to small business resources and through a community land trust model. While the organization is yet to acquire land for the land trust, Brooklyn Level Up continues to advocate for the neighborhoods’ residents. During the pandemic, the organization aided 475 residents/entrepreneurs in navigating pandemic regulatory changes, creating vaccine access, and easing barriers to government programs and services. Find out more here.

Founded in 2008 as a Community Solutions project, the Brownsville Partnership became a separate, affiliated not-for-profit in 2019. The mission of the Brownsville Partnership is to, “convene community stakeholders to harness their collective power to advance the health, safety, and prosperity of the storied Brooklyn neighborhood of Brownsville.” The Partnership also supports the Brownsville Plan, which is a, “collective strategy for the equitable development of the neighborhood, through the lens of health, housing, and economic mobility.

The Brownsville Partnership works on several projects such as the Community Action for Healthy Homes, which is a “survey-fix process” with a goal to improve living conditions for tenants and low-income homeowners. One of the most important projects for the Partnership is the development of the Brownsville CLT.

In 2017, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) released the Request for Proposal (RFP) for publicly-owned, vacant lots on Livonia Avenue in Brownsville. After significant community engagement and leadership from the Brownsville Preservation, a CLT at one of the planned locations was established to foster community control and ownership. Find out more here.

Founded in 2020, the East New York Community Land Trust’s stated mission is to “protect, stabilize, and expand the stock of affordable homes, locally-owned small businesses, and green spaces in East New York and Brownsville to benefit low to moderate-income BIPOC residents.” Local residents democratically formed a steering committee to begin envisioning a community land trust for their neighborhood. While the CLT is yet to own land, they continue to advocate for the conversion of publicly owned land into the CLT model. For example, the organization launched a Reparative Justice Campaign in 2021 to convert all vacant lots along with parking areas controlled by the NYPD into a community land trust to provide needed, deeply affordable housing along community space. Find out more here.

Founded in 2020, ReAL Edgemere CLT was formed to, “advocate and create new, permanently affordable homeownership opportunities in Edgemere, a BIPOC neighborhood on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens that had been devastated by Hurricane Sandy.” After a thorough Request for Expressions of Interest process via the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the CLT was chosen to control and redevelop 62 vacant lots in the neighborhood. The organization continues to organize to ensure residents receive equitable access to city resources following Hurricane Sandy. Find out more here.