Affordable Housing

Riverton Square, via A&E Real Estate

August 20, 2018

New waitlist opens for mixed-income units at East Harlem’s Riverton complex, from $1,174/month

Last November, East Harlem’s Riverton Square opened up its 7,500-name waitlist for middle-income families. They've now reopened it, this time to a wider range of income brackets. Households earning 60, 80, or 125 percent of the area median income can put their name on the list for units ranging from $1,174/month one-bedrooms to $2,983/month three-bedrooms. The affordable seven-building development was built by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1947 to serve as housing for WWII veterans. Unlike their similar complexes, Stuyvesant Town and the Bronx's Parkchester, Riverton did not bar black and Hispanic tenants from renting. Today, the 12-acre complex offers a gated community with 12 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds and a public fountain, a new basketball court and playground, and a newly built senior center and after-school center.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

August 17, 2018

Lottery launches for affordable units across from Lincoln Terrace in Crown Heights, from $938/month

By Devin Gannon

Located across from the Lincoln Terrace/ Arthur S. Somers Park in Crown Heights, a newly constructed building has 10 affordable apartments up for grabs. New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, which include $938/month studios, $1,080/month one-bedrooms and $1,223/month two-bedrooms. In addition to being across from 21 acres of public park, the rental at 24 Ford Street also features a fitness center, lounge, a bike room, and parking.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

August 16, 2018

Apply for 35 affordable apartments in Bed-Stuy, from $745/month

By Devin Gannon

A six-story building in Bed-Stuy launched a lottery this week for 35 affordable apartments. Developed in collaboration between Comunilife and NYC Health + Hospitals, the Woodhull Residence at 179 Throop Avenue contains 89 studio apartments, designed as supportive and affordable housing. The apartments up for grabs through the lottery are set aside for individual New Yorkers earning 50 and 60 percent of the area median income, or between $27,463 and $43,860 annually, and include $746/month and $903/month studios.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

3 chances to live just steps from the G train in Bed-Stuy, from $1,912/month

Photo via Julien Magne/Flickr

August 14, 2018

3 chances to live just steps from the G train in Bed-Stuy, from $1,912/month

By Devin Gannon

A six-story building in Bed-Stuy launched a lottery this week for three middle-income units. The newly constructed building, located at 523 Willoughby Avenue, sits between Marcy and Tompkins Avenues and just a two-minute walk from the G train. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for one $1,912/month one-bedroom and two $2,303 two-bedroom apartments.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Prospect Park Boathouse via Flickr/cc

August 13, 2018

Six brand-new, middle-income apartments available right off the park in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens

By Dana Schulz

Prospect-Lefferts Gardens is becoming a more and more coveted neighborhood, especially when you're just a few short blocks from Prospect Park and the B and Q trains at Parkside Avenue, which is exactly the selling point for the new 20-unit rental at 830 Flatbush Avenue. The building was recently completed and as of today, households earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for six middle-income apartments, including $2,253/month one-bedrooms and $2,716/month two-bedrooms. They'll also have access to a fitness center, laundry room, lounge, bike storage, and roof deck.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Aerial view of Roosevelt Island. Image: Schizoform via Flickr.

August 13, 2018

Cuomo announces deal to keep 360 Roosevelt Island apartments affordable for 30 more years

By Michelle Cohen

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday that an agreement had been reached to keep over 360 Roosevelt Island apartments in the Westview housing development, currently in the Mitchell-Lama rental program, affordable for 30 more years. Without the agreement, the Westview's owner could have removed the building from the middle-class housing program and converted all of the apartments to market rate immediately. Instead, Westview will be able to exit from the Mitchell-Lama program but tenants will be offered first-time ownership opportunities at deeply affordable and below-market prices. Simultaneously, long-term affordability protections will be provided for tenants who continue to rent.
Find out more

Live on the Williamsburg-Bushwick border for just $1,039/month

Photo via Wally Gobetz/Flickr

August 10, 2018

Live on the Williamsburg-Bushwick border for just $1,039/month

By Dana Schulz

At the beginning of the year, three middle-income apartments came online at the brand new rental 126 Boerum Street in trendy East Williamsburg, just off the Bushwick border and only steps to theL train at Montrose and the J/M at Lorimer. Now, two more units are available, these for New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income and renting for $1,039.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

The best affordable and student-friendly off-campus neighborhoods in NYC

Columbia campus, via Pixabay

August 9, 2018

The best affordable and student-friendly off-campus neighborhoods in NYC

By Cait Etherington

If you can’t bear the idea of living in the dorms for another year, you’re not alone. Unless you happen to go to Columbia where over 90 percent of students live on campus, there's a high likelihood you’ll be searching for your own apartment at some point during your college years, just like 57 percent of students at NYU and 74 percent at The New School. And if you're like most students, you’ll be looking for an apartment far from downtown that strikes the right balance between affordability, commutability, and access to services. To help you make the smartest decision possible, 6sqft has compiled a list of affordable, student-friendly neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn. By New York City standards, all of these are both safe (e.g., reported fewer than 1.5447 crimes per 1000 people in June 2018) and within reach (e.g., on average, three-bedroom units can still be rented for less than $5,000 per month). Using July 2018 City Realty data on average neighborhood rents, we've broken down how much you’ll pay on average to live in a three-bedroom shared unit in each of these neighborhoods. We’ve also provided average commute times to both Union Square, which is easily walkable to NYU, The New School, and Cooper Union, and to the Columbia University campus.
Get the guide

59-block Inwood rezoning vote draws protests from residents who fear its character will be lost

Inwood Hill Park; Image: Dana via Flickr.

August 9, 2018

59-block Inwood rezoning vote draws protests from residents who fear its character will be lost

By Michelle Cohen

On Wednesday the City Council approved a rezoning plan for a 59-block section of Inwood, a neighbhorhood often referred to as the "last affordable neighborhood in Manhattan," the New York Times reports. The plan was approved last week by the city's zoning subcommittee and the Land Use Committee. The Inwood rezoning is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to rezone neighborhoods across the city as part of the push to create and preserve 300,000 affordable housing units by his goal date of 2026. Inwood is the fifth neighborhood–including the also-controversial East New York and East Harlem–to be approved for rezoning under the plan.
Find out more

Waitlist opens for 400+ middle-income units near Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Via Paul VanDerWerf on Flickr

August 8, 2018

Waitlist opens for 400+ middle-income units near Flushing Meadows Corona Park

By Devin Gannon

A lottery to get on the waitlist for more than 400 moderate-income units launched this week across a few rental buildings in Forest Hills, a residential neighborhood of Queens. The buildings, located at 62-27 108th Street, 108-53 62nd Drive, and 110-01 62nd Drive, are being developed by Phipps Houses, a major developer of affordable housing. The buildings sit nearby Flushing Meadows Corona Park, home to the Queens Museum, New York Hall of Science, Citi Field, and the Arthur Ashe Tennis Stadium. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 100 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, which range from a $1,462/month studio to a $2,170/month three-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

In Bushwick, 3 middle-income units located steps to the M, J and Z trains, from $2,714/month

By Devin Gannon

Starting on Wednesday, applications will be accepted for three new, middle-income units in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Found at 1157 Myrtle Avenue, the rental sits just a block away from the J, M and Z trains as well as the B54 and B 15 buses. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the two $2,714/month two-bedrooms and one $3,131/month three-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

20 affordable studios in Bed-Stuy up for grabs for $666/month

Photo via Matthew Rutledge on Flickr

August 7, 2018

20 affordable studios in Bed-Stuy up for grabs for $666/month

By Devin Gannon

A newly constructed Bed-Stuy rental launched a lottery this week for 20 affordable studios. Located at 500 Gates Avenue, the five-story, 68-unit apartment building sits on the corner of budding Thompkins Avenue, a block home to nearby favorites like Bed-Vyne Brew and Peaches Hot House. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the $666/month studio apartments.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Via CityRealty

August 7, 2018

De Blasio signs bill forcing Airbnb to disclose names and addresses of hosts

By Devin Gannon

Update 8/7/18: Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday signed into law a bill that cracks down on the number of illegal Airbnb listings in New York City. Taking effect in February 2019, the new law requires the company to disclose the names and addresses of its hosts. The information will be turned over to the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement. The New York City Council passed a bill on Wednesday that requires Airbnb and other home-sharing sites to provide the names and addresses of its hosts to the city. Under state law, it remains illegal in most buildings to rent out an apartment for less than 30 days unless the permanent tenant is there. Just hours before the council unanimously voted for this legislation, an Airbnb host from Brooklyn, Stanley Karol, sued the city in federal court for fining him $30,000 after speaking out against the bill. "I believe that the City has sought to silence me, by not only saddling me with massive fines, but also making me feel unsafe in my own home," Karol said.
Find out more

August 6, 2018

15 middle-income units available in up-and-coming Midwood, from $1,350/month

By Dana Schulz

As we recently noted, "Midwood might not yet be considered an up-and-coming ‘hood," but it is getting a Target and the food hall treatment, which seems to be NYC's answer to the "Whole Foods effect." And for New Yorkers who are keen to get in at the very beginning of a possible transformation, the city's latest affordable housing lottery could be just the answer. As of today, middle-income households earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for 15 units at the newly constructed rental 1930 Avenue M. It's located right at the corner of Ocean Avenue, which in recent years has seen a surge of new residential development. The available apartments range from $1,350/month studios to $2,050/month two-bedrooms.
READ MORE

Affordable Housing

Pilot program to legalize basement apartments developing in East New York

Via HPD

August 3, 2018

Pilot program to legalize basement apartments developing in East New York

By Devin Gannon

Mayor Bill de Blasio in June announced the city would help landlords create and renovate legal basement and cellar apartments in Brooklyn. This includes making the apartments up to code by ensuring proper safety requirements and windows, among other modifications. As a part of the pilot program, homeowners can apply for the basement pilot program through a city-approved, community-based organization. "This program will increase the stock of affordable housing in East New York, provide additional income to homeowners, and ensure tenant safety," de Blasio said. The deadline for the basement conversion program is August 15 (h/t City Limits).
Find out more

80 Centre Street; image: Wikimedia Commons.

August 3, 2018

Lower Manhattan’s Marriage Bureau building may become new jail tower as Rikers replacement

By Michelle Cohen

Last year, Mayor de Blasio announced his support of closing the jail on Rikers Island after protests from activists and public officials over the conditions at the aging complex. In the ensuing months, the focus turned to possible replacements for housing the jail's 5,000-plus inmates over the next decade. Now, the New York Daily News reports, the city is considering 80 Centre Street for a towering detention center as part of the plan.
The building now houses the city's Marriage Bureau

Affordable housing 101: The history and future of Mitchell-Lama

Waterside Plaza, a former Mitchell-Lama Housing Program-funded rental project. Photo via Flickr cc.

July 27, 2018

Affordable housing 101: The history and future of Mitchell-Lama

By Cait Etherington

A high percentage of working New Yorkers do not qualify for low-income rentals yet still struggle to pay the city’s exceptionally high rents on the private market. While this may seem like a new problem, in fact, it is something legislators and housing advocates have been attempting to resolve for over 70 years. Indeed, this […]

July 26, 2018

880+ affordable homes, new performing arts center and public space upgrades coming to Brownsville

By Devin Gannon

A proposal to revitalize Brooklyn's Brownsville neighborhood was announced one year ago, with a plan to bring a seven-building housing development to the area unveiled last month. And on Thursday, city officials released more details about the massive project, with new renderings and updates on its progress. As part of the Brownsville Plan, the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development will bring a new arts center and school run by a group from the Brooklyn Music School and a media lab run by BRIC, new retail and commercial space, and a rooftop greenhouse with locally sourced produce. Plus, two proposals were selected as the NYCx Co-Lab Challenge winners, a competition that sought to find ways to enhance the area's "nighttime experience."
Find out more

July 26, 2018

5 chances to live in the hip hub of Bushwick, from $926/month

By Devin Gannon

Photo via Victoria Pickering on Flickr If you live at 682 Bushwick Avenue, chances are you would never go hungry. The rental building, which sits at the corner of Bushwick and Willoughby Avenues, is near local bars like Happyfun Hideaway and Birdy's, Mexican eatery Regalo De Juquila and artsy cafe Little Skips. A lottery launched this week at the building for five units set aside for New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income. Available apartments include two $926/month one-bedrooms and three $1,042/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Lottery opens for 160 affordable apartments near the High Line, starting at $702/month

Photo via Flickr cc

July 25, 2018

Lottery opens for 160 affordable apartments near the High Line, starting at $702/month

By Dana Schulz

The High Line and affordability don't typically go hand-in-hand, but the lottery opens tomorrow for a new, 160-unit affordable housing project at 425 West 18th Street, less than a block from the High Line. As part of a Bloomberg-era initiative to lease unused NYCHA land to private developers, the 18-story building took over the parking lot of the 1960s Fulton Houses complex. The low- and middle-income availabilities range all the way from $702/month studios to $3,216/month two-bedrooms, and amenities include a laundry room, bike storage, and outdoor space on the roof and first floor.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

July 20, 2018

NYC added 32,000 affordable homes this year, setting a new construction record

By Devin Gannon

Via Pixabay New York City financed more than 32,000 affordable homes in the last fiscal year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday. This breaks the record set by former Mayor Ed Koch in 1989 and sets a record for most new construction with 9,140 affordable homes. But with the additional units come additional costs: The city's investment in the housing plan grew from $1 billion in fiscal year 2017 to $1.6 billion this year.
Learn more

July 17, 2018

8 chances to snag an apartment near the Pulaski Bridge in Greenpoint, from $2,270/month

By Devin Gannon

Via EXR A Greenpoint rental building located near the foot of the Pulaski Bridge launched a housing lottery this week for eight middle-income apartments. The development, dubbed Freeman's Corner, contains two buildings at 215 and 216 Freeman Street. Units boast oversized windows, polished concrete floors, built-in Bluetooth speakers and some feature private balconies. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, which include four $2,270/month one-bedrooms and four $2,733/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

July 16, 2018

Live one block from the J, M, Z trains in Bushwick, from $1,979/month

By Devin Gannon

Photo via CityRealty Three middle-income units in Bushwick are up for grabs for New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income. Located at 20 Jefferson Street, the newly constructed rental building sits right next to J, M and Z trains at the Myrtle Avenue subway station. The apartments boast state-of-the-art appliances and on-site laundry. Available units include one $1,979/month one-bedroom and two $2,387/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

July 13, 2018

Live just a short drive from the New York Botanical Garden, from $1,375/month

By Devin Gannon

Photo via Wikimedia A lottery launched this week for five newly constructed, middle-income units in the Bronxdale/Allerton neighborhood of the Bronx. Located at 2953 Barnes Avenue, the four-story building sits just over a mile from the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo, making the trip just a five-minute car ride or 20-minute bus ride. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, which range from a $1,375/month one-bedroom to a $1,575/month two-bedroom.
Do you qualify?

Affordable Housing

Lottery opens for six middle-income apartments near the Greenpoint waterfront, from $2,100/month

197 Freeman Street via CityRealty

July 13, 2018

Lottery opens for six middle-income apartments near the Greenpoint waterfront, from $2,100/month

By Dana Schulz

197 Freeman Street via CityRealty A $2,255/month one-bedroom might not be the deal of the century, but compared to the fact that the same market-rate apartment is asking $3,115, it sure seems like a steal. At 197 Freeman Street in Greenpoint, just a few blocks from the waterfront and right near cool spots like the Lobster Join and Troost, six apartments are available through the city's affordable housing lottery to New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income. They range from $2,100/month studios to $2,715/month two-bedrooms, and the newly constructed building offers a gym, roof deck, and laundry.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Affordable Housing

Pitch a Story

Interested in seeing the property in person?

Interested in seeing the property in person?

Distinctive Post Form

Get in Touch

Send us a Tip

Interesting in learning more about purchasing a new home?

Thinking about selling your home?

Sell a Home (Footer)

Before You Move On from this Page.

Your Passport to NYC:Subscribe for Local Insights and Stories!

Before You Move On
from this Page.

Your Passport to NYC:
Subscribe for Local Insights and Stories!