The lottery for the affordable housing units at the recently completed 351 E. 10th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C is open now.
As previously reported, the long-empty lot yielded an 8-floor residential building featuring 28 residences, 11 of which are designated "affordable." Housing news here dates back to October 2019, when an array of city and federal officials came together during a press conference "to celebrate the commencement of the preservation and rehabilitation of project-based Section 8 housing in the East Village."
There are 11 units — studios and 1-2 bedroom homes — currently available for residents at 70 to 130% of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $55,955 to $198,250.
The building features a virtual doorman system, laundry room, package room, bike storage lockers, intercommunication devices and an elevator.
Application deadline: March 29.
The NYC Housing Connect site here has all the application details and a breakdown of income restrictions for each eligible unit.
Previously on EV Grieve:
This is what kills me - the income requirements leave out single people who make $70-98K. I make around $80K, so I don't make enough to qualify for a single studio. My partner makes around the same amount as me, but our combined income puts us above the income requirements for 2 people.
ReplyDeleteI concur with 9:24 AM.
ReplyDeleteThe vetting process can be grueling when applying for one of thees units not to mention the income cap of either one individual. a couple, or even a large family. My friend and his husband were chosen as lottery winners amongst thousands of others in 2009 for a spacious one bedroom apartment here in the east village. They submitted endless documents, recommendation letters, and sat through two intensive interviews prior to handing over a check and moving in. One of the men was a waiter and artist who primarily worked off the books, receiving a small, weekly paycheck, and the other was successfully employed in marketing. So, they were able to pull it off by a slim margin. Perhaps not the most transparent way of accessing an affordable apartment in the city, but we all do what we have to do sometimes, especially in today's housing and economic climate. They continue to enjoy their dwellings and pay a ridiculously low amount for a modern building with it's amenities compared to what others are now paying.
"Perhaps not the most transparent way of accessing an affordable apartment in the city"
ReplyDeleteStrange way to describe fraud.
The system is a mess, no doubt, and the market situation even worse, but your friends took that apartment from someone with a lower income who actually qualified. Not exactly a victimless crime.
Hi Sarah
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your thoughtful and kind response. I agree. I wouldn't do it. But they did. As far as victimless crimes go, there are many who take advantage of the system, and never face accountability.
Its also fun that every year they check your tax returns and if you go even .50 cents over the max they give you a 30 day vacate notice. You pretty much have to hope your income never changes again. I don't understand why people don't speak out against this giant scam that lets the developers pad their pockets by building 'affordable' units. Whenever the news does a big story about a building that has 'affordable' units, its always a big display of our elected leaders patting themselves on the back. It makes your blood boil.
ReplyDeleteI live in affordable housing. Nobody is evicted for an increase in salary when we submit the yearly forms. Some people do get an increase in rent or maintenance "if it's an affordable co-op situation."
DeleteThe 12:36 comment is inaccurate. These apartments are considered rent stabilized and follow the same guidelines put in place in 2019. An increase in income while a tenant does not affect your lease. I encourage anyone that qualifies to apply.
ReplyDelete"Its also fun that every year they check your tax returns and if you go even .50 cents over the max they give you a 30 day vacate notice. You pretty much have to hope your income never changes again."
ReplyDeleteWhat? This isn't true. In some buildings, the tenants have to re-certify their income yearly, but this is not for purposes of individual eligibility. It's to force the management to keep a certain number of the apartments occupied by people in the right income range, so that if one apartment is occupied by someone whose income is now "too high," they're obliged to add another apartment to the affordable pool.
Again, not a fan of the current system, but this isn't right. If you know folks who have been holding off from applying for this reason, tell them it's not necessary!
Sadly this is not affordable housing for our median household income. These units should serve incomes between 25k - 60k. They need a break on market rate rents.
ReplyDelete