Lottery For Upper West Side Luxury Development Wait List Opens

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A lottery to be placed on the wait list for below-market rate units at Upper West Side luxury development One Columbus Place is now accepting applications.

The unspecified number of units are eligible for individuals and families earning 130 percent of the area median income — making it more expensive than other affordable housing lotteries held throughout the city. But despite the higher income requirements, the units still represent a discount compared to the market-rate apartments in the West 59th Street and Ninth Avenue development.

The cheapest units, which are studio apartments, will rent for $2,116 per month, according to the city's Housing Connect website. One-bedroom units will rent for $2,270 per month and two-bedroom units will rent for $2,733 per month. Although these are not "affordable" rents for many New Yorkers, comparable market-rate apartments in One Columbus Place can command rents exceeding $6,000 per month.

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The minimum eligibility requirement for an individual is an annual salary of $72,549 for a studio or $77,829 for a one-bedroom apartment, according to the housing lottery website. Families of between two and four people interested in a two-bedroom apartment must earn a combined $93,703 per year.

Here's a chart from Housing Connect that details the available units and levels of affordability:

Prospective tenants can apply for the housing lottery online using the Housing Connect website. Applications must be submitted by Oct. 18 and there will be no application or broker fee. Additionally a mail-in application can be received by sending a self-addressed letter to: ONE COLUMBUS PLACE c/o Urban Associates, LLC., P.O. Box 230939 New York, NY 10023.

In October the city announced it would be revising the rules of affordable housing lotteries to protect low-income residents from being discriminated against. Applicants to affordable housing lotteries will no longer be subject to rejection based solely on poor credit scores or past disputes with landlords in housing court.

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