Bed-Stuy volunteer ambulance corps finally owns longtime home, plans new facility
New York City transferred three adjacent lots near 727 Greene Ave. and 180 Van Buren St. directly to the nonprofit. Until now, the corps had been leasing the city-owned property month to month.
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The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps now owns the land it has operated from for more than three decades — giving the group room to build for its future.
New York City transferred three adjacent lots near 727 Greene Ave. and 180 Van Buren St. directly to the nonprofit. Until now, the corps had been leasing the city-owned property month to month.
“We now have the deed to the land,” BSVAC President Antoine Robinson said.
City property is typically sold through an auction. But special state legislation approved in 2025 allowed the city to transfer this property directly to the ambulance corps without a costly bidding process.
The transfer follows an effort that began in 2022 and included help from city and state leaders.
“It’s really credit to both the dedicated members of the ambulance corps and the dedicated planners that work for the city government,” said PJ Berg, deputy commissioner for real estate services at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.
James “Rocky” Robinson and Joe Perez founded the volunteer ambulance corps in 1988, during the height of the crack epidemic. The group formed as the neighborhood struggled with violence, health concerns and long waits for emergency medical help.
What began on an abandoned lot has grown into an organization with four ambulances and about 350 active and inactive volunteers. The corps responds to more than 2,000 calls each year and offers CPR, first aid and other lifesaving training.
For roughly 15 years, much of that work has been based inside a double-wide trailer.
Volunteers gave News 12 a tour of the tight space, which serves as a dispatch center, classroom, equipment room and headquarters.
“During the winter months, when the snow is on the roof, we have to get up there and shovel that off because the weight of the snow creates leaks,” Chief of Operations James Pointer said.
The corps has also secured $6 million in state funding to replace the trailer with a new three-story ambulance and training facility.
Robinson said the larger space will allow the group to train future EMTs, expand its programs and welcome more volunteers.
“We’re not gonna stop training. We’re not gonna stop saving lives throughout our community,” Robinson said.
The new facility is expected to be completed by December 2028.
