40 Affordable Apartments Up For Grabs In New Midtown High-Rise

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A skinny new tower shooting up in Midtown East has launched a lottery for 40 affordable apartments, although some are costlier than others.

Known as The Gilroy, the new building at 232 East 54th St. stands 388 feet and 37 stories tall. Just now being completed, it contains 130 apartments.

Of those, more than three dozen have been designated as affordable and are up for grabs on the city's Housing Connect website.

Thirteen of the units are available to people making up to 70 percent of the area median income (AMI) — between $48,686 and $58,520 for a single person, with a higher cap for larger households. Rents for these units run between $1,281 for studios and $1,660 for two-bedrooms.

The rest are more costly: an applicant must make at least $86,503 to apply for one of the 27 units listed at 130% AMI.

A doorman rental building, the Gilroy was designed by Ismael Leyva Architects and was inspired by 1920s aesthetics, including "the speakeasies of the Jazz Age," according to its listing. Amenities include a fitness center, screening lounge and a rooftop terrace with scenic views.

The affordable apartments are being made available through the city's 421-a program, meaning the developer got a tax break in exchange for including them.

Half of the affordable units will be reserved for residents of Community Board 6, along with smaller percentages for city employees and people with disabilities. The deadline to apply online is Aug. 30.

Read more about the apartments at east54rentals.com, or apply on Housing Connect.