Honoring Champions of Permanently Affordable Homeownership: Habitat and Interboro Receive FAC Build Award

At the Fifth Avenue Committee’s 2025 Benefit and Awards Reception, held last month at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Habitat for Humanity NYC and Westchester County and Interboro Community Land Trust were recognized with the Build Award for their leadership and vision in advancing permanently affordable homeownership across New York City.

Receiving the award were Christie Peale, our CEO and Interboro Board Chair; John Edward Dallas, Interboro Director; and Sabrina Lippman, Habitat CEO. The Build Award — presented jointly to Interboro and Habitat — honors their collaborative work to make homeownership a reality for lower-income New Yorkers through the community land trust model.

During his remarks at the ceremony, John Edward reminded the crowd:

“We all know it takes a village to raise a child — but what does it take to create housing for that child? It takes a lot of subsidy, a lot of patience, a lot of land — but above all, it takes partnerships.”

And thanks to those partnerships, the Net Zero Homes project — developed by Habitat — will transform 13 vacant lots into 15 brand-new, energy-efficient homes in southeastern Queens. To ensure permanent affordability of the homes for future generations of low- and moderate-income New Yorkers, Habitat will place these homes on the Interboro CLT.

John Edward’s words and the award itself reflect the shared mission of everyone in the room: building stability and opportunity that outlasts any single project. We congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition and are proud to see the Center’s values embodied in this work. 

The Center, along with Habitat, MHANY, and UHAB, are founding members of Interboro.