Applications for affordable units in modular tower available next month; reprising info on unit size/rents

According to a post on Brooklyn Community Board 6's Facebook page, at some point next month applications will be available for the 181 subsidized apartments planned for the B2 modular tower, aka 461 Dean Street, flanking the Barclays Center at Flatbush Avenue.

That implies that the building, which is several floors below its projected 32 stories, is on track to open this summer.

The units will be spread among low- (73), moderate- (36), and middle-income (72) households, with rents for the few subsidized two-bedroom units ranging from under $900 to nearly $2900. (Half the building will be market-rate, and those two-bedroom units should cost well over $4,000.) See graphics below.

The projected monthly rents below should be adjusted upward by about 4% (and possible more), given that the 2012 Area Median Income (AMI), upon which target percentages of AMI were calculated, has risen from $83,000 in 2012 to $86,300 in 2015.

To apply, people must contact MHANY (Mutual Housing of New York) Management, at pacificpark@mutualhousingny.org, or 718-246-8080, x 224 or x239. MHANY, led by Ismene Speliotis, is a successor to ACORN, which signed the Affordable Housing Memorandum of Understanding with then-developer Forest City Ratner in 2012.

Drilling down

This building, however, has far fewer family-sized units than originally promised, though the affordability range conforms to original promises. The next two "100% affordable" buildings have more family-sized units but the affordability skews significantly toward better-off households.

There is no information currently on the MHANY web site or the New York City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development's affordable housing lottery page. Half the units in the lottery will be reserved for residents of Brooklyn Community Districts 2, 3, 6, and 8.

One question is whether (and how much) the significant troubles suffered by the building--leaks and mold, at least in lower floors, requiring repair--will be disclosed to future residents. This building is being developed solely by Forest City Ratner, not its joint venture partner in the rest of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park (except the arena), Greenland USA.

Affordability charts, as of 2012

From NYC Housing Development Corporation: note that 2016 rents for affordable units likely will go up at least 4%.

From Forest City Ratner: note that 2016 rents for affordable units likely will go up at least 4%.