The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) was on the scene on two consecutive days this past summer at a tenement building located at 406 East 10th St. in Manhattan’s East Village. But firefighters were not responding to an emergency. This was a training exercise at a vacant building AAFE is working to modernize and preserve as a permanent source of affordable housing. We partnered with FDNY to provide firefighters with a real world training opportunity in the century-old building, which is undergoing a gut renovation.

The Fire Department conducts training exercises all the time, but it’s not every day that they’re able to hold training drills inside an actual residential building. Due to their age, tenements are especially vulnerable to devastating fires, and they pose unique challenges for firefighters. So the exercises at 406 East 10th St. provided valuable hands-on training.

“We were proud to collaborate with the FDNY to provide this training experience in the East Village,” said Nelson Chan, AAFE’s director of Real Estate Development. “In Chinatown, the Lower East Side and across New York City, our courageous firefighters are on the front lines every day saving lives in buildings like this one. We’re always eager to help in any way we can to assist the FDNY and to support the Fire Department’s heroic efforts to keep NYC tenants safe and sound.” 406 East 10th St. is one of three buildings in the East Village AAFE is renovating under NYC HPD’s Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program (ANCP). Working with Restoring Communities HDFC and building residents, AAFE is renovating each property, upgrading electrical and mechanical systems, modernizing individual apartments and ensuring that the buildings adhere to New York City’s fire code and safety standards. While the residents have been temporarily relocated, they will all be able to move back into the buildings when construction is complete.