Rents Start at $933 In These 6 Affordable NYC Housing Lotteries — How To Apply

NEW YORK CITY — Six affordable housing lotteries on New York City Housing Connect expire in the next week, including four in Brooklyn and two in Queens.

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 in the next week.

558 Sackett Street Apartments

Address: 558 Sackett St., Brooklyn, NY 11217
Rent starts at: $933
Eligible incomes range: $37,612 - $227,500
Number of units: 10
Deadline to apply: Sept. 29
Link to apply: here.

39-20 214th Place Apartment

Address: 39-20 214th Pl., Queens, NY 11361
Rent starts at: $2,290
Eligible incomes range: $87,018 - $227,500
Number of units: 3
Deadline to apply: Sept. 29
Link to apply: here.

19 Rockwell Place Apartments

Address: 19 Rockwell Pl., Brooklyn, NY 11217
Rent starts at: $2,065
Eligible incomes range: $75,669 - $227,500
Number of units: 53
Deadline to apply: Oct. 1
Link to apply: here.

340 & 342 Melrose Street Apartments

Address: 340, 342 Melrose St., Brooklyn, NY 11237
Rent starts at: $2,825
Eligible incomes range: $103,166 - $189,540
Number of units: 5
Deadline to apply: Oct. 2
Link to apply: here.

37-18 Broadway Apartments

Address: 37-18 Broadway, Queens, NY 11103
Rent starts at: $2,250
Eligible incomes range: $83,452 - $227,500
Number of units: 5
Deadline to apply: Oct. 2
Link to apply: here.

962 Bushwick Avenue Apartments

Address: 962 Bushwick Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11221
Rent starts at: $2,850
Eligible incomes range: $104,812 - $227,500
Number of units: 12
Deadline to apply: Oct. 3
Link to apply: here.

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