The Atrium at Sumner: A Place to Call Home

By Bernice Elizabeth Green
Vickie and Freedom, a couple in their early 60’s, just celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary on May 4th.
And the best gift they could have received came a few weeks ago when their application was accepted for a new apartment in the Atrium at Sumner, back in their old neighborhood, and as far away from the Bronx shelter as they could get.

The Atrium at Sumner designed by Studio Libeskind is 100% affordable senior housing built on an island of vacant land on the NYCHA Sumner Houses grounds. The ten-story building provides 190 units of affordable space. It’s located just a half-block south and across the street from Woodhull Hospital.

When they heard about the new building, they took their time filling out the application. Freedom revealed he worked his side like a narrative – an interesting read about his adventures in Brooklyn. All true. “You don’t want to know what I been through,” he said. “It was a good story. All true.” And it may have helped his bid stand out from the rest of the applicants. Vickiee’s story is a good one, too. They both grew up in the neighborhood just four blocks away.

People are starting to move into the 11-story building constructed on what the press release called “underutilized land at NYCHA’s Sumner Houses.” According to the press release issued at last week’s press conference, there are 190 new apartments for seniors, with 57 units set aside for those seniors who have formerly experienced homelessness.

On Tuesday, Our Time Press met three former homeless Atrium tenants. It was just a simple matter of walking into the courtyard and asking the couple what they felt about the building, then walking a few blocks down Marcus Garvey Blvd (formerly Sumner Avenue) and being introduced to a former vet. The couple, Vickie and Freedom, and Lawrence, who recently returned to his neighborhood after 30 years in Indiana, said they enjoyed being back home, in the neighborhood where they group up, and having a place where they could “be.”
The Atrium at Sumner may look like the Guggenheim Museum’s Brooklyn cousin, but it is serving a purpose to seniors who did not have a space at all. And yes, it is diverse: African Americans, Caribbeans, Asians, and Hispanics live there. And according to Our Time Press, there are still empty apartments. The numbers are not available, but numbers do matter in times like these.

According to the Furman Center report, Bed-Stuy has “the 32nd largest proportion of the nonwhite population, the 33rd highest median income, and the 15th most expensive rents of the city’s 59 neighborhoods. From 2010 to 2020, the neighborhood added 5,912 new housing units, 4,902 units of which were market rate and 1,006 units of which were income restricted.”
So, for Vickie the joy is seen through a watchful eye. Time passes, and things get old, she told us. That’s most especially true with everything related to housing falling in the shadow of the lack of affordable housing. City pols are scrambling for affordable solutions and she’s watching out. But, for now, it is like heaven.

“Just hope the buildings don’t succumb to looking like it was before,” she said. “The devil’s a busy person. You’ve got be aware every second of the day.”

Lawrence Harrison, a Brownsville native and former veteran, moved back to Bed-Stuy from Indiana, where he had moved for a couple of decades. But before he left Brooklyn, he managed to rack up many years as a driver – starting at age 15 – for Restivo Brothers Bakery on Evergreen. “I got up early in the morning and dropped bread off at over 100 bakeries along my route.”

“I was born on Lafayette Avenue between Sumner and Throop, across the street from P.S. 25, my old elementary school. I went to Boys High on Marcy Avenue. Graduated from service at Ft. Benning, Ga, in 1992—nearly three decades in the Midwest. And now, I’m home.
He learned of the building from a friend, filled out his application, got a voucher, and, pointing to his noggin, “threw all worries and concerns out the window,” he told Our Time Press.
“I am blessed that the good lord gave me this place.” A far cry from the vet shelter called the Hilton Hotel in Queens, NY. “It even has a garden of Eden. I mean, real, LIVE plants. Never seen anything like it. Brand new refrigerator, sink, stove.”

“They bought me pots, pans, dishes, towels,” Lawrence told Our Time Press.
As the outside world attempts to resolve myriad complex entanglements attributed to projects like the Atrium at Sumner, the couple and Laurence told Our Time Press on Tuesday that they are grateful to those who are thinking about people like them—with efforts to equalize equity for the most vulnerable and the unsheltered while finding fair solutions to troubles centering around affordable housing.
However, for now, such things as air rights and private development on vacant land at NYCHA complexes are not a concern. Not now. Vickie and, Freedom, and Laurence are enjoying simple pleasures: a table, a chair, a couch, a dresser, books.

Vickie, Freedom, and Laurence are surprised at the median home values in Bedford Stuyvesant, nesting for now at $1,220,006, according to the Furman Center report, which places the figure higher than the national median of some $290,000. “And the rents are off the chart,” said one of them.

There is also the reality check that they hope they will never need to cash: “Down the road, things could change.” One senior told Our Time Press, “I’ve been around here for so many years, I know how brand-new things can over time wear down, and desperation sets in. Things change. For now, I’m enjoying this, but I’m awake.”

Our Time Press noticed that wide pathways form a crucifix shape outside the rear of the Atrium at Sumner. One elder told Our Time Press that if there is nothing else, we can vote. True. These old schoolers know what happens to the neighborhood when neighbors don’t stay, work together, or don’t go to the polls.

To Our Time Press’s question of Vickie if there were any other improvements she would like to see, her quick response was “It would be nice if they could have a workshop on the premises for seniors who want to learn technology.”
To apply for affordable housing opportunities, see housingconnect.nyc.gov or hcr.ny.gov/find-affordable-housing