Bushwick housing lottery building sets minimum income at $125K to apply, sparking outrage
The buildings units listed on the city's affordable housing lottery site set income requirements at a base of $125,520 a year, with units only marginally below market price.
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A new building in Bushwick has residents who were excited at the prospect of new housing coming to the neighborhood feeling sticker shock.
The building's units listed on the city's affordable housing lottery site set income requirements at a base of $125,520 a year, with units only marginally below market price.
The building was built under a now-shuttered Cuomo-era state program that allowed developers to get tax breaks and list affordable units at 130% of an area's median income (AMI).
However, AMI is set city-wide, with even parts of Westchester included in that figure, allowing for higher prices than those who live in Bushwick can afford.
"I lived here all my life on this block, my current building is city-run and old, I was hoping to apply, I figured a new build would have to have at least one bedroom that's for affordable, but man what they are calling low income, it's not low income, talking over $2,700 for a one-bedroom," said Knoll Street resident Rey Rodriguez. "It's not even mid-income, it's high-income."
In a statement to News 12 Council Woman Jennifer Guiterrez said, “The high-rent units at 130% AMI on the lottery are a product of the now defunct 421a state tax incentive program before my time as Council Member, which failed to deliver truly affordable housing. With the City of Yes reforms the City Council passed, buildings in as-of-right zoning like this one would incentivize developments to include 20% affordable units at 60% AMI. In the chances I do get to weigh in on developments, I work with HPD to ensure rents are at levels that reflect what Bushwick residents can reasonably pay.”
According to Guiterrez, the building is also zoned R6 or "As of Right" and received no local feedback in its implementation phase.
