'Affordable' Harlem Apartments Require $75K Salary

EAST HARLEM, NY — Dozens of "affordable" apartments are up for grabs in a new East Harlem building — but applicants must take home a hefty salary to even be eligible.

The 51 apartments are listed in the housing lottery for 1998 Second Ave., a recently-constructed building on the corner of East 103rd Street. They range from studio apartments all the way to three-bedrooms that could fit as many as seven people.

For a single person to apply for even the smallest studios, they must make at least $75,429 per year — or 130 percent of the area median income.

The larger apartments are listed with the same AMI, meaning a family applying for one of the three-bedroom units would need to make at least $128,572 to be eligible.

The studios are listed at a monthly rent of $2,200, climbing up to $3,750 for the three-bedroom apartments.

Affordable housing lotteries run by the city have come under criticism for being largely inaccessible to the people who need them most, due in part to the low number of overall apartments and the difficulty of subsidizing the cheapest units. Some advocates have also directed ire at the city's area median income system, which incorporates income data from beyond the city limits, including wealthy suburbs — inflating the numbers.

Indeed, East Harlem's median household income was estimated at around $32,960 in 2019, according to data compiled by the NYU Furman Center — less than half the required income for applicants in the Second Avenue lottery.

The 1998 Second Ave. lottery is open until July 14. Amenities in the "luxury rental building" include in-unit laundry, free storage, a media room and outdoor movie screen, a fitness center, barbecue areas, and outdoor roof deck with a pool.

To learn more or apply, visit the listing on Housing Connect.