One of the goals of the city's East New York rezoning is to preserve and create affordable housing. Now just months after the plan was approved one developer shows us the progress being made. Brooklyn reporter Jeanine Ramirez has the story.

Sandra Haynes has been a tenant in this East New York building for 22 years. And was anxious to give us a tour of her newly renovated apartment.

"This is my safe haven," said Haynes. This is my bedroom. They painted. You see new windows. New blinds."

And her rent didn't go up. She pays less than $600 a month for this one bedroom apartment. It's one of 468 affordable housing units in East New York rehabilitated by developer BRP Companies. 

"East New York was a focus of ours a few years back because we knew the city was going to rezone the area," said Meredith Marshall, founding managing partner of BRP Companies.

The City Council passed the controversial rezoning in April. It's part of the de Blasio administration's plan to create more affordable housing and spur development here. Many residents pushed back saying they feared displacement and rising rents. But part of the rezoning allows companies like BRP to receive city financing and tax credits to refurbish existing affordable housing buildings.

"We had to work hand in hand with them on the rent restructuring, on the financing on the new regulatory agreements and on managing the entire process, Marshall said. "So it was a public-private partnership to the fullest extent."

BRP says it finished the preservation of 63 buildings in just 18 months and nobody was displaced, including this longtime resident.

"They did all the bathrooms," said Keith Logan. "I mean from scratch. They tore out from the bottom and the top. New tiles and everything and they did the same thing with the kitchen."

Now the developer is building affordable housing on four different sites along Livonia Avenue. This project will bring 288 rental units along with community and retail space. BRP says its total investment in East New York is $200 million. And wants to establish a good reputation here — the first of the city's 15 planned rezoning areas.  

"It's important for us to get a foothold in East New York now and to do the right thing so we can benefit long term."

Construction on the Livonia Avenue developments is expected to be completed in 2018.