'Affordable' Brooklyn Homes Don't Come Cheap, Data Shows

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK -- A $3,157-a-month one-bedroom on the Brooklyn waterfront is "affordable," but so is a $395 studio in East New York. In Bushwick, affordable apartments come with access to private theaters and fitness centers. But in Bed-Stuy, you'll need a credit card to use the washing machine.

Brooklyn, the borough that will shell out nine bucks for a Unicorn Latte but expects perfect pizza to cost a dollar, has always had a skewed view on affordability.

And when it comes to housing, the battle over affordability — what it means and who gets to decide — has spurred Brooklynites to march across the borough and even chase the mayor across the Park Slope YMCA gym.

That's why Patch decided to examine the city's NYC Housing Connect listings, a tool meant to provide Brooklynites with reasonably priced housing options in the face of mounting development, to determine where affordable housing was going up, how much it cost and who could afford it.

Patch analyzed the 24 Brooklyn listings available to qualifying New Yorkers on Oct. 31. While the majority of the 789 apartments listed were available to New Yorkers earning less than the area median income — 500, or roughly 63 percent — most of those affordably priced homes were clustered in two East New York developments.

Outside East New York, less than a third of homes accepted incomes below the AMI, 20 listings required that applicants earn more than $100,000 a year, and one listing asked that applicants earn almost $200,000.

Several Brooklyn neighborhoods — such as Bedford-Stuyvesant, Greenpoint, Midwood and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens — only had apartments available to those earning 130 percent of the AMI. In Bushwick, ninety percent of the 131 homes available require incomes that top out at about $157,000.

To find out how your neighborhood stacks up, keep reading. Below you'll find the breakdown of listings by neighborhood, with area profiles, specific income requirements and information about how to apply — if you qualify.

Bedford-Stuyvesant and Clinton Hill

Neighborhood Profile:

Listings: 3
Apartments available: 79
Units At 60 Percent AMI: 73
Units At 130 Percent AMI: 6
Most Expensive Studio: $913 at 810 Fulton St.
Cheapest Three-Bedroom: $2,350 at 49 Rochester Ave.

Listings:

Address: 810 Fulton St.
Apartments Available: 73
Monthly Rent: Between $913 and $1,183
Annual Income Requirement: Between $33,189 and $62,580
Deadline To Apply: Dec. 20,
Click here for details

Address: 49 Rochester Ave.
Apartments Available: 3
Monthly Rent: $2,350
Annual Income Requirement: Between $80,572 and $168,220
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 15
Click here for details

Address: 847 Madison St.
Apartments Available: 3
Monthly Rent: $2,276
Annual Income Requirement: Between $78,035 and $122,070
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 9
Click here for details

Brooklyn Heights

Neighborhood Profile:

Listings: 1
Apartments available: 100
Units Available At 80 Percent AMI: 25
Units At 130 Percent AMI: 25
Units At 165 Percent AMI: 50
Most Expensive Studio: $2,947
Cheapest Three-Bedroom: $2,075

Listing:

Address: 15 Bridge Park Drive
Apartments Available: 100
Monthly Rent: Between $1,394 and $4,380
Annual Income Requirement: Between $47,795 and $157,300
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 9
Click here for details

Bushwick:

Neighborhood Profile:

Listings: 8
Apartments available: 131
Units At 80 Percent AMI: 16
Units At 130 Percent AMI: 115
Most Expensive Studio: $2,171 at 115 Stanwix St.
Cheapest Three-Bedroom: $1,985 at 15 Stanwix St.

Listings:

Address: 889 Bushwick Ave. and 340 Evergreen Ave.
Apartments Available: 67
Monthly Rent: Between $1,759 and $2,506
Annual Income Requirement: Between $60,309 and $146,510
Deadline To Apply: Dec. 21
Click here for details

Address: 70 Bushwick Ave.
Apartments Available: 6
Monthly Rent: Between $1,881 and $2,505
Annual Income Requirement: Between $64,492 and $135,590
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 26
Click here for details

Address: 1552 Myrtle Ave
Apartments Available: 3
Monthly Rent: $1,979
Annual Income Requirement: Between $67,852 and $108,550
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 26
Click here for details

Address: 18 Stanhope St.
Apartments Available: 8
Monthly Rent: Between $2,175 and $2,270
Annual Income Requirement: Between $74,572 and $135,590
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 23
Click here for details

Address: 1140 Bushwick Ave.
Apartments Available: 3
Monthly Rent: $1,881
Annual Income Requirement: Between $64,492 and $108,550
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 16
Click here for details

Address: 115 Suydam St.
Apartments Available: 3
Monthly Rent: Between $1,975 and $2,387
Annual Income Requirement: Between $67,715 and $135,590
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 15
Click here for details

Address: 140 Stanhope St.
Apartments Available: 3
Monthly Rent: Between $2,175 and $2,387
Annual Income Requirement: Between $74,572 and $135,590
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 13
Click here for details

Address: 225 Stanwix St.
Apartments Available: 41
Monthly Rent: Between $1,432 and $3,225
Annual Income Requirement: Between $49,098 and $157,300
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 12
Click here for details

East New York

Neighborhood Profile:

Listings: 2
Apartments available: 361
Units At Less Than 60 Percent AMI: 361
Units At 130 Percent AMI: 0
Most Expensive Studio: $896 at 453 Hinsdale St.
Cheapest Three-Bedroom: $594 at 453 Hinsdale St.

Listings:

Address: 679 Van Sinderen Ave. and 180 New Lots Ave.
Apartments Available: 121
Monthly Rent: Between $413 and $1,281
Annual Income Requirement: Between $16,629 and $72,600
Deadline To Apply: Dec. 28
Click here for details

Address: 453 Hinsdale St., 500 Livonia Ave., and 487 Livonia Ave.
Apartments Available: 240
Monthly Rent: Between $395 and $1,339
Annual Income Requirement: Between $15,429 and - $72,600
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 21
Click here for details

Midwood and Brighton Beach

Neighborhood Profile:

Listings: 2
Apartments available: 20
Units Available At 60 Percent AMI: 0
Units At 130 Percent AMI: 20
Most Expensive One-bedroom: $2,273 at 1543 East 19th St.
Cheapest Two-Bedroom: $2,050 at 2954 Brighton 3 St.

Listings:

Address: 1543 East 19th St
Apartments Available: 15
Monthly Rent: Between $1,979 and $2,740
Annual Income Requirement: Between $67,852 and $135,590
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 21
Click here for details

Address: 2954 Brighton 3 St.
Apartments Available: 5
Monthly Rent: $2,050
Annual Income Requirement: Between $70,286 and $135,590
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 7
Click here for details

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

Neighborhood Profile:

Listings: 5
Apartments available: 62
Units At 60 Percent AMI: 0
Units At 130 Percent AMI: 62
Most Expensive Studio: $1,525 at 310 Clarkson Ave.
Cheapest Three-Bedroom: $2,635 at 310 Clarkson Ave.

Listings:

Address: 310 Clarkson Ave.
Apartments Available: 51
Monthly Rent: Between $1,525 and $2,635
Annual Income Requirement: Between $55,286 and $168,220
Deadline To Apply: Dec. 12
Click here for details

Address: 287 Maple St
Apartments Available: 2
Monthly Rent: Between $2,327 and $2,791
Annual Income Requirement: Between $79,783 and $146,510
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 19
Click here for details

Address: 289 Maple St
Apartments Available: 3
Monthly Rent: $2,320
Annual Income Requirement: Between $79,543 and $122,070
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 19
Click here for details

Address: 239 Hawthorne St.
Apartments Available: 3
Monthly Rent: $1,990
Annual Income Requirement: Between $ 68,229 and $122,070
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 5
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Address: 237 Hawthorne St.
Apartments Available: 3
Monthly Rent: $1,990
Annual Income Requirement: Between $68,229 and $122,070
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 5
Click here for details

Williamsburg and Greenpoint

Neighborhood Profile:

Listings: 3
Apartments available: 36
Units At 60 Percent AMI: 25
Units At 130 Percent AMI: 11
Most Expensive Studio: $801 at 125 Borinquen Place
Cheapest Three-Bedroom: $3,132 at 310 Graham Ave.

Listings:

Address: 125 Borinquen Place
Apartments Available: 25
Monthly Rent: Between $801 and $974
Annual Income Requirement: Between $33,875 and $62,580
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 21
Click here for details

Address: 310 Graham Ave
Apartments Available: 8
Monthly Rent: Between $2,253 and $3,132
Annual Income Requirement: Between $77,246 and $157,300
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 8
Click here for details

Address: 77 Clay St.
Apartments Available: 3
Monthly Rent: Between $2,276 and $3,538
Annual Income Requirement: Between $78,035 and $192,530
Deadline To Apply: Nov. 20
Click here for details

Photo courtesy of Brian Goodman/Shutterstock