Trending
Millions applied for 4K affordable units over a 2-year period
Department of Housing and Preservation has held 72 lotteries since then
Chances of getting an affordable apartment in the city is roughly one in 696. That’s the number of applications for every affordable apartment offered in city lotteries since July 2013, according to the New York Daily News.
“The affordability crisis is getting worse every day, and we’re in danger of losing our city,” Maritza Silva-Farrell, a spokesperson for Real Affordability for All, told the newspaper. “Too many neighborhoods are being handed over to wealthy developers.”
In total, 2.9 million people applied for a 4,174 available units across 72 Department of Housing Preservation and Development lotteries. And while these units might qualify as affordable, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re cheap. At City Point in Brooklyn — where the lottery for affordable units opened last week — three quarters of the building’s 200 units will be reserved for those making up to 165 percent of the median income in the area or $142,395 annually for a family of four.
At 382 Lefferts Avenue in the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens area of Brooklyn, the affordable studios will rent for $1,900 a month and one-bedroom units will be more than $2,000. In May, a market-rate studio in the area averaged $1,334 per month. [NYDN] — Claire Moses