About East Harlem El Barrio Community Land Trust (CLT)

The East Harlem El Barrio Community Land Trust (EHEBCLT) is dedicated to empowering tenants and the community to develop and preserve deeply and permanently affordable housing, commercial spaces, green areas, and cultural hubs in East and Central Harlem. To ensure lasting affordability, the EHEBCLT employs a strategic model in which it retains ownership of the land and leases it to its partner organization, the East Harlem/El Barrio Mutual Housing Association.

After years of tireless organizing efforts, the EHEBCLT has achieved a historic milestone by becoming only the second community land trust in NYC to secure city-owned land. Currently, the organization is collaborating with nonprofit developer partners to rehabilitate its first four buildings, transforming them into permanently affordable, tenant-controlled housing, setting a precedent for community-driven development in the city.