For nearly five decades, Douglaston Development has been one of New York City's most consequential forces in affordable housing; a builder not just of buildings, but of communities. 

Founded by Jeffrey Levine, whose career in real estate began with a summer job in construction and a belief that good housing could transform a neighborhood, the company has grown from a small operation into a fully integrated real estate organization with a portfolio spanning thousands of units across the five boroughs and beyond.

Douglaston Development oversees every phase of the project lifecycle, from site acquisition and financing through construction, entitlements, and long-term asset management. It’s a model built not for short-term gains, but for lasting community stewardship.

The company's commitment to affordability stretches back to its earliest days – and for Levine, it has always been personal. Growing up as a resident of NYCHA’s Linden Houses, he understood what quality affordable housing means to a family and a neighborhood. That conviction drove Douglaston’s earliest work: from the Central Harlem Renaissance co-op on 116th Street, to three phases of affordable housing in the Bronx's Crossroads development, to the anchoring of Williamsburg's waterfront with mixed-income housing, the company has consistently gone where affordable housing was needed most.

That tradition continues today through an incredibly diverse portfolio spanning mixed-income buildings, fully affordable buildings, supportive and public housing.  Building on a successful track-record of excellence in mixed income housing, Douglaston recently delivered more than 200 affordable units within its 58-story 3Eleven building near the High Line in Manhattan Community Board 4. Slightly further north in Hells Kitchen, Manhattan, the company is delivering Rialto West — 158 units of affordable housing developed with the Entertainment Community Fund to serve performing arts professionals and low- and moderate-income residents. Among the company's most significant current undertakings is Sparrow Square, a $1 billion transformative affordable housing development in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, developed in partnership with Breaking Ground and others. In the Bronx, Douglaston has closed on ground leases adjacent to the New York Botanical Garden for a two-phase, 450-unit affordable housing development serving low-income seniors and working families in Community District 7. These projects are not outliers; they reflect a deliberate strategy to meet New York City's most urgent housing needs through innovative public-private partnerships.

What distinguishes Douglaston is not just the scale of its work, but the relationships it has built to make that work possible. The company has forged deep partnerships with nonprofit organizations, government agencies, community development financial institutions, and neighborhood stakeholders — recognizing that affordable housing today requires collaboration as much as capital. As market-rate development has faced mounting regulatory and financial headwinds, Douglaston has leaned in, adapting its model to continue producing housing for the New Yorkers who need it most.

Douglaston Development is proud to be recognized by the New York Housing Conference as its 2026 Developer of the Year — a company whose decades of work stand as a testament to what the private sector, at its best, can do for the people and places of New York City