Lottery Opens for 13 New, Affordable Washington Heights Apartments on 161st Street

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Thirteen new affordable units in a mixed-use building are up for grabs in Washington Heights as of Tuesday. The city's Housing Connect website is now accepting applications for the new development at 607 W. 161st St.

Prospective tenants can apply for one of six studio apartments, six one-bedroom apartments or one two-bedroom apartment until Aug. 15. The affordable units are going for three different rates. Studios will cost $868 a month, one-bedrooms will cost $965 a month and the lone two-bedroom unit will cost $1085 a month. The one-bedroom units will be open to a maximum number of two people per household and the two-bedroom unit will accommodate a household as large as four people.

Residents of Community Board 12 are getting preference for 50 percent of the affordable units, according to Housing Connect. Additional preference for 5 percent of the units is being given to both municipal employees and mobility-disabled applicants. Vision- or hearing-disabled applicants are getting a preference for 2 percent of the units.

Here's a chart detailing rents and unit requirements provided by Housing Connect:

With a minimum annual earning of nearly $30,000 and maximum annual earning of $54,360 the apartments are not exactly cheap, but they aren't as phony as other units being listed as "affordable," around the city.

To apply, prospective tenants should visit the Housing Connect website and search for current lotteries.

[Renderings courtesy of Jeffrey Cole Architects]