This summer’s glut of affordable housing lotteries has slowed down somewhat as hotumn finally cools off, but lacking federal money or an alternative housing creation strategy, NYC’s reliance on the lottery system remains, and new units continue to open for application. The most recent of these is in Williamsburg, at 695 Grand St.
The lottery involves four levels of affordability: units priced at 30 percent area median income, 60 percent AMI, 50 percent AMI and 130 percent AMI. In other words, apartment pricing ranges widely, from vaguely affordable for those making more than average to “affordable” only to those making exponentially more than most neighborhood residents. Further complicating the pricing scheme, those qualifying for the lowest income bracket must also qualify for Section 8, a government rent subsidy, meaning that while their rents will be higher than those of the 60 percent AMI bracket, they will not be responsible for paying all of their rent.
There’s really too much information here for it all being written out to be helpful; just look at the chart. The facts are that that, in total, there are 38 apartments available. Only 4 will be going to the tenants with the lowest income bracket – two two-bedrooms and two three-bedrooms – which is $0 to $33,210 annually. The cheapest units, two studios going for $670/month, will rent to one-person households making between $24,858 and $33,400 a year. The most expensive unit, the two $2,056/month three-bedrooms, will rent to the lowest income bracket, which includes people making no money annually and qualify for Section 8 housing. There are no three-bedroom units available to the highest income bracket.
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The building doesn’t boast any crazy amenities, but there is a garden (specified as being “outdoor” because this is Brooklyn and sometimes a “garden” is actually just a complimentary terrarium from your management company, possibly), laundry, and a community room.
The building, located in an active artery within the central beating heart of Williamsburg, is a short walk from the Graham Ave. L station and a slightly longer short walk from the Metropolitan Ave. G station.
A percentage of units will be reserved for residents with mobility, vision and hearing disabilities. Preference will be given to Municipal employees and current residents of the area’s Brooklyn Community Board 1.
Applications are being accepted through December 29 at midnight. To apply, go to NYC Housing Connect’s website. Don’t be scammed: These applications never involve an broker’s or application fee. The building is, per usual, smoke-free.
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