Lottery for 240 "affordable" units at 595 Dean extended to July 31, with increased income limits for applicants (thanks to 2023 AMI changes). Move-ins again delayed.
(Given that the units are not so affordable, by common parlance, the developer savvily emphasizes their "rent-stabilized" status.)
The extension not only increases the time available to recruit applicants for these income-targeted units, aimed at middle-income households earning up to 130% of Area Median Income, or AMI.
Another delay
That means that those in the income-targeted units--30% of the total--will move in well after the market-rate tenants, who in April started moving in.
Such time lags are typical. The first Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park building with only middle-income "affordable" units, Plank Road (B15, 662 Pacific St.), opened its lottery in November 2021, weeks after market-rate move-ins began.
The second, Brooklyn Crossing (B4, 18 Sixth Ave.), opened its lottery in January 2022, about a week after market-rate units were said to be available.
“That’s a good point,” allowed Tobi Jaiyesimi, Executive Director of the AY CDC and the Project Director for Empire State Development, the state authority that oversees/shepherds Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park.
The extension not only increases the time available to recruit applicants for these income-targeted units, aimed at middle-income households earning up to 130% of Area Median Income, or AMI.
After all, it's never easy to recruit for such units, which, while well below market for such new, well-situated buildings, still have not-inexpensive rent levels: $2,290 for a studio, $2,690 for a 1-BR, and $3,360 for a 2-BR.
Rent-stabilization offers predictable, relatively small rent increases, but some in that middle-income cohort would rather look toward ownership.
Broadening the applicant pool
Unmentioned: the extension also allows TF Cornerstone to recruit from an a larger pool of potential applicants, since an increase in the AMI calculation for 2023, as recently announced by the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), means higher income limits for all applicants.
The upshot is it could be a bigger bargain for some. Consider: "affordable" housing should cost 30% of annual income. For a 1-BR at $2,690, that annual rent, $32,280 is 30% of $107,600.
For a 1-person household, the minimum income is $92,229, so annual rent would be 35% of income.
The original income ceiling was $121,420; it's now $128,570. Under the original scenario, annual rent would be 26.6% of maximum income, while it would now be 25.1%.
Note that, as shown below, the rent levels sought by TF Cornerstone are well below the unrealistic ceilings set by the city. A 1-BR for $2,690 has a better chance of being leased than if the developer sought $3,253.
595 Dean housing lottery screenshots
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| Original version |
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| Updated version |
As I wrote in April, a representative of TF Cornerstone previously suggested that the housing lottery would open in March or April, but it actually started in May. It had, as of last November, teased the lottery as coming "soon."
That means that those in the income-targeted units--30% of the total--will move in well after the market-rate tenants, who in April started moving in.
Such time lags are typical. The first Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park building with only middle-income "affordable" units, Plank Road (B15, 662 Pacific St.), opened its lottery in November 2021, weeks after market-rate move-ins began.
The second, Brooklyn Crossing (B4, 18 Sixth Ave.), opened its lottery in January 2022, about a week after market-rate units were said to be available.
The typical 60-day application window in this case has been extended by a month.. Then it may take two to ten months to hear back, according to the city, which is followed by an interview and evaluation process.
As I wrote in November 2012, the Citizens Housing and Planning Council reported that, on average it takes 371 days to fill all the units in a NYC housing lottery, despite units being available and ready for occupancy, and that one in three housing lotteries did not begin until months after a building was already ready for occupancy. It blamed the city bureaucracy.
At an April meeting of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), board member Ron Shiffman, a longtime advocacy planner and academic, asked if there’s a way of making sure in the future that the lottery is scheduled so market-rate unit and below-market residents can move into the building simultaneously.
As I wrote in November 2012, the Citizens Housing and Planning Council reported that, on average it takes 371 days to fill all the units in a NYC housing lottery, despite units being available and ready for occupancy, and that one in three housing lotteries did not begin until months after a building was already ready for occupancy. It blamed the city bureaucracy.
At an April meeting of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), board member Ron Shiffman, a longtime advocacy planner and academic, asked if there’s a way of making sure in the future that the lottery is scheduled so market-rate unit and below-market residents can move into the building simultaneously.
“That’s a good point,” allowed Tobi Jaiyesimi, Executive Director of the AY CDC and the Project Director for Empire State Development, the state authority that oversees/shepherds Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park.
She said she'd follow up. The AY CDC, which is supposed to meet quarterly, thus should meet by the second week in July. No meeting has been scheduled yet.
2022 affordable rents/AMI, from HPD
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2023 affordable rents/AMI, from HPD
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