NEW YORK CITY-Four distressed buildings in the University Heights section of the Bronx will be the beneficiary of much needed improvements. The properties will undergo a $28.6-million rehabilitation program financed by the city.

The properties at 2239, 2241, 2323 and 2333 Creston Ave. were in the city's Alternative Enforcement Program that targets 200 distressed buildings each year. Not-for-profit affordable housing developer Workforce Housing Advisors took over the properties last year after the previous owners amassed more than 1,000 violations and defaulted on their mortgage, according to Crain's New York Business.

The rehab program will be financed through a combination of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, city Department of Housing Preservation and Development loans, city Housing Development Corp. bonds and Reso-A funding secured by the City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

"The preservation of four distressed Creston Avenue homes shows what it is possible when tenants, organizers, banks, developers and the city work together to bring positive changes to their communities," stated Quinn in a press release. See story in Crain's New York Business.