NYC Real Estate Investment Cooperative
= NYC REIC will attempt to "leverage the political power and patient investments of members to stabilize neighborhoods and build an inclusive, resilient city".
URL = http://nycreic.com/
Description
"Since our first member meeting in May 2015, we have attained a membership of 300 people, banked $3,100 at the Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union, and received pledges of over $1.3Million for future investments. By April 2017, we aim to finance at least one permanently affordable commercial property. Our goal is to make long-term, stabilizing, and transformative investments for the mutual benefit of our member-owners and our communities.
The organizations currently endorsing the cooperative are: 596 Acres, Spaceworks, Greater Brooklyn and Fourth Arts Block. We have received a small grant from RSF Social Finance.
Within two years, the NYC Real Estate Investment Cooperative (NYC REIC) will move from the incubation phase and become an independent, cooperatively-governed organization that provides financing to create long-term affordable community-controlled space for cooperative enterprise, art, culture and organizing.
Minimum member investments are $10, but larger investments are both necessary and encouraged; they simply do not give the investor more control over the cooperative’s decisions."
Characteristics
"Draft preliminary criteria for NYC REIC investments:
- The property to be acquired is in New York City.
- The programming proposed in the property supports culture, small business, cooperation, and/or community benefit.
- The programming in the property benefits populations that have traditionally had barriers to accessing stable places to assemble and/or do their work.
- The property and programming proposal are financially sound so that we will be able to pay members back; we aim to minimize the risks we are taking with our money and resources.
- The property acquired is restricted from being transferred as a market commodity in the future through legal mechanisms in its deed (e.g. covenants, conservation easements, community land trusts); we can make this a prerequisite for working with us."