2 Affordable NYC Housing Lotteries, With Rents Starting At $1,566​, Expire This Week

NEW YORK CITY — Two affordable housing lotteries on New York City Housing Connect expire this week, both of which are in Brooklyn.

But wait — what is Housing Connect?

For the uninitiated, New York City Housing Connect is an online platform that aims to provide New Yorkers with opportunities for affordable prices on apartments in new developments.

The website, which launched in 2013 after years as a mail-based program, lists residential buildings across the five boroughs currently accepting applications for apartments, with both leasing and purchasing opportunities.

However, there is a catch: Your total income and family size need to fit within a certain range to be eligible to apply to the housing lottery, and each lottery has different income restrictions, based on a measurement called Area Median Income, which you can calculate here.

Oftentimes, real estate developers will set aside a certain number of affordable units in their blueprints to secure support and approval from city officials and community boards.

The NYC Department of Housing and Preservation, which runs NYC Housing Connect, considers affordable housing to be apartments that cost one-third or less of what the people living there make in income.

Also, there's usually a certain number of units in each lottery set aside for people with disabilities, workers employed by the city, or people already based in the community board district where the building is located.

Once users apply for an eligible unit, they are issued a log number, and then the numbers are chosen at random by an automated system, lottery-style.

Here are all the housing lotteries expiring before the end of the week.

111 Willoughby Street Apartments

Address: 111 Willoughby St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Number of affordable units: 69
Rent starts at: $2,950
Eligible incomes range: $101,143 - $227,500
Amenities: This pet-friendly apartment building has a rooftop terrace, a gym, a yoga studio, bike storage, and all units have washers and dryers.
Deadline to apply: June 25
Link to apply: here.

The Hart

Address: 1038 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11221
Number of affordable units: 18
Rent starts at: $1,566
Eligible incomes range: $57,498 - $131,220
Amenities: This apartment building has bike storage lockers, a shared laundry room, a media room, outdoor areas and a recreation room.
Deadline to apply: June 27
Link to apply: here.

Explore the Housing Connect website here.

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.