This is not normal. The amount of affordable housing lotteries to open this summer has been truly inordinate, an unprecedented number revealing the efforts of Mayor de Blasio’s plan to make New York City affordable, AKA allowing massive amounts of private residential development with a certain amount of new units allocated to be “affordable” in each new building (often in exchange for a tax abatement). Of course, what is affordable depends on your income, as many of the “affordable” units are only affordable if you make 60 percent or more of an area’s median income. Take the “affordable” units at the “Caesura” in Fort Greene, where micro units for $1,482/month opened for lottery back in June for single person households making up to $110,220 annually, or 130 percent of the area median income. It’s so wonderful a large hunk of sky was allowed to be blocked by a glassy new luxury apartment building in the name of giving what is essentially market rate housing to people making exponentially more than most area residents, eh?
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Bitterness and general critique of the city’s current plan to provide affordable housing aside, the most recent affordable housing lottery in Brooklyn to open to application (there are currently a whopping eight lotteries open in Brooklyn alone) is a sweet hookup if you can score a unit.
This one is at 635 Fourth Ave. in Sunset Park and consists of 19 newly constructed units in a building with a gym, lounge, kids room, pet spa, bike room and “outdoor amenity space.” It opened to application yesterday, and is accepting applications through October 2 at midnight. There are eight studios, seven one-bedrooms, and four two-bedrooms. The studios are renting for $813/month to single person households making between $30,343 and $40,080 annually, the one-bedrooms are going for $840/month to one- to two-person households making $31,338 to $45,840 annually, and the two-bedrooms are going for $1,016/month to two- to four-person households making $37,406 to $57,240 annually.
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To brokers, this building could arguably be located in South Slope, even though it is west of the Prospect Expressway. It’s about equidistant between the 4th Av – 9 St G / F / R station and the 25 St. R station.
The building has 91 apartments in total and replaces the Seafarers International Union’s Brooklyn Hall, Curbed reported back in 2014.
An SEO slip-up (or perhaps a subliminal message from whoever writes up these PDFs?) has the headline on the tab reading “421-a Homeless Advertisement.” Weird. May this bloom into a conspiracy theory that ultimately, through a number of strange and unpredictable factors, transforms the city’s affordable housing program and homeless services for the better.
Per usual, a portion of units will go to those with mobility, vision, or hearing disabilities, municipal employees, and area residents (in this case, those living within Brooklyn Community Board 7).
Don’t be scammed: There’s never a broker’s fee for these lotteries and you should apply through NYC Housing Connect.
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