Housing lottery launches for 80 rent-stabilized apartments in East New York
- Households that earn $31,612 to $218,010 are eligible to apply, and rents start at $823 for a studio
- The 14-story development is attached to the landmarked Empire Street Dairy Company building
- The building at 268 Barbey St. has a dog park, gym, playground, and business center
A rendering of the development attached to the historic Empire Street Dairy building.
Housing lottery applications are open for 80 rent-stabilized apartments at a new, East New York development attached to the much older Empire Street Dairy Company building. Households that earn $31,612 to $218,010 are eligible to apply, depending on the number of people you live with. Rents start at $823 for a studio.
The doorman building at 268 Barbey St. has a dog park, bike storage lockers, gym, playground, business center, and elevator, though additional fees apply for access to some of these amenities. It’s also pet friendly—as long as your pet weighs no more than 50 pounds. The building is located near the Van Siclen Avenue subway stop serving the J and Z trains.
Designed by Dattner Architects, the new development holds 320 units total, plus commercial space for community use, according to Dattner. The 14-story apartment complex sits behind the famed dairy building on Atlantic Avenue.
The Empire State Dairy building, which was made a New York City landmark in 2017, was designed by two prominent architects, Theobald Engelhardt and Otto Strack, according to city records. The 100-year-old-plus building stands as a reminder of “East New York’s and Brooklyn’s important industrial past,” Meenakshi Srinivasan, former Landmarks Preservation Commission chair said at the time.
The apartments are set aside for New Yorkers earning from 40 to 130 percent of the area median income (AMI)—a metric that depends on how many people you live with. Currently the AMI for NYC is $124,300 for a two-person household. The apartments available include studios as well as one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments.
There are 17 one-bedroom apartments available for households earning from $51,395 to $83,880. The rent for these apartments is $1,374.
The developers have set aside 20 percent of the rent-stabilized apartments for applicants who already live in the area. Future lotteries will use a lower ratio as a result of a lawsuit settlement, which claimed the practice of community preference perpetuates segregation and violates the Fair Housing Act. Check out: "NYC agrees to cut percentage of housing lottery units set aside for nearby residents."
Another 5 percent of the apartments will be preferentially given to NYC employees. A small percentage of the apartments are also set aside for residents with mobility, vision, and hearing needs.
Applications must be submitted online or postmarked no later than Jan. 24th.
If you’re interested and think you might qualify for one of these apartments, you can create a profile and apply online via NYC Housing Connect. For details on this particular lottery, click here. Don’t apply more than once, or you could be disqualified.
Winning a rent-stabilized apartment can be life changing: Rent increases are capped and lease renewals are automatic, providing long-term stability for NYC renters. Need more information on how the housing lottery works? Check out “6 steps for applying to NYC's affordable housing lottery.”
For some advice from successful applicants read “How to land a rental apartment through NYC's affordable housing lottery.” And if you or someone you know is having trouble with the application process, consider reaching out to a housing ambassador in the community.
Note: Brick Underground is in no way affiliated with New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development or the Housing Development Corporation. If you are interested in applying to these or other affordable housing developments, please go to NYC Housing Connect for information and instructions.
Have you successfully won an apartment through the affordable housing lottery? If you have first-person advice to share about the process, we’d love to hear from you. Please send us an email. We respect all requests for anonymity.
