'Affordable' Flatbush Units Come With 6-Figure Income Requirement

FLATBUSH, BROOKLYN — The city is touting a handful of $2,000-a-month Flatbush one-bedrooms as affordable, even though New Yorkers who want to apply must earn between $63,000 and $138,000 a year, records show.

The 11 new units at 1538 New York Ave., between Farragut and Glenwood roads, hit the NYC Housing Connect lottery on Monday, city records show.

Eight one-bedrooms that cost $2,000 a month are available only to those earning between $63,395 and $111,020 a year, according to the listing.

And three two-bedrooms that cost $2,250 a month are available only to households bringing in an annual income between $68,538 and $138,710, records show.

The six-story, 70-foot-tall apartment complex stands on a plot of land that once was home to two single-family homes with front gardens and slanted roofs, according to city records and satellite images from GoogleMaps.

Owner Yitzchok Katz of 1542 NY LLC bought the single-family home at 1542 New York Ave. for $1,030,000 in October 2017 and at 1538 New York Ave. for $1,195,000 in July 2017, city records show.

Later that year, Katz filed permits to demolish the two homes and build a 30,809 square foot apartment complex with Michael Avramides as the architect, according to Department of Buildings records.

Neighbors filed roughly 20 complaints with the Department of Buildings during construction, reporting construction taking place after work and scaffolding and sheds going up on their properties without permission, city records show.

The development contains 36 apartments, a gym, recreational room and business center that tenants must pay a fee to access, according to city records.

Those who meet the city's income requirements have until June 11 to apply.