Latest StuyTown lottery provides ‘affordable’ apartments for single people earning $120K

You’re a single New Yorker earning over $120,000 a year–do you really need subsidized housing? Apparently, yes. And apparently, a $2,975/month one-bedroom or a $3,695/month two-bedroom is now considered “affordable.” These are the benchmarks for Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village’s 2019 affordable housing lottery, which opens the waitlist for one- and two-bedroom units to households earning 165 percent of the area median income.

In October of 2015, the Blackstone Group partnered with Canadian investment firm Ivanhoe Cambridge to buy Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village for $5.45 billion. Part of the deal is that they would reserve 5,000 units of affordable housing for 20 years, 4,500 of which will be for middle-income families and 500 for low-income families.

6sqft recently took a deep dive into the criteria behind area median income. An income figure used to help determine eligibility for affordable housing in New York City, it is often criticized for being calculated by HUD rather than the city itself, as well as the fact that several affluent suburbs, including Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam counties, factor into the AMI calculation. But that aside, should anyone earning 165 percent of this figure be eligible for affordable housing?

In the past few years, Stuyvesant Town has opened three waitlists. In March 2016, a 15,000-name, low-income waitlist was opened for apartments ranging from $1,210/month studios to $4,560/month five-bedrooms. In January 2017, a middle-income waitlist opened for those earning between $84,150 and $149,490 annually. These units included $2,805/month one-bedrooms and $3,366/month two-bedrooms. And finally, this past September, another waitlist opened for those earning 80 and 165 percent of the area median income (or between $43,860 and $268,620 annually). The units ranged from $1,462/month studios to $5,508/month five-bedrooms.

The 80-acre Stuyvesant Town complex is the largest rental community in Manhattan. It offers amenities such as open green space, a 24-hour on-site property manager, laundry, a cafe, children’s playroom, and a fitness center.

Qualifying New Yorkers can enter the waitlist for the affordable units as of today until April 3, 2019. The StuyTown 2018 lottery waiting list has expired, so applicants must reapply if interested in any of these unit types. Waitings lists for unit types NOT included in this lottery are still active. Complete details on how to apply are available here. Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

If you don’t qualify, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city. And find market-rate listings at Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village here.

RELATED:

• Latest StuyTown affordable housing lottery opens, rents from $1,462/month
• Report claims Mayor de Blasio inflated benefits of Stuyvesant Town sale to preserve affordable housing
• Area median income: What it means and how it’s calculated
• Stuyvesant Town goes green: How the 70-year-old complex is reinventing itself in a modern age