DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Real estate owner, operator and developer RXR recently celebrated the topping out of 89 DeKalb — a 30-story, 324-unit all-electric residential tower that is slated to provide affordable, market-rate housing, in addition to 55,000 square feet of academic space for Long Island University.

The development’s 324 units will include 98 designated for middle-income households, an example of RXR’s attempt to put a dent in the housing crisis in New York City, Ivan Kondili, project executive for construction and development at RXR, told the Brooklyn Eagle.

“There is clearly a housing shortage,” Kondili noted, adding that “Now is the right time to provide a high-quality residential experience that is reachable for at least the middle income community.”

A recent report from NYC Comptroller Brad Lander revealed that 2023 was “the tightest housing market in the city in over 50 years.” The report referred to New York City’s housing market as “one of the priciest in the nation.” Further, the vacancy rate for apartments that rent below $1,650 was less than 1 %, it said.