By Gus Saltonstall
An “affordable housing lottery” has launched for a single apartment within a new luxury building on the corner of West 96th Street and Broadway.
The lottery, which will remain open until January 17, is for an apartment within the newly constructed 96 + Broadway building at 250 West 96th Street. The luxury condominium building contains a 75-foot pool, a fitness center, squash and basketball courts, a children’s playroom, a landscaped rooftop, an indoor movie theater, and more.
To qualify for the lottery, you need to make between $0 and $111,840, depending on how many people are in your household. Applicants must not make more than 80 percent of the area-median income, which is $86,960 for a single-person household, $99,400 for two people, and $111,840 for three. You must also not have more than $302,606 in assets.
If you qualify and are selected, you will then have the opportunity to purchase the apartment for an estimated $308,313. Eligible buyers should have 10 percent of the purchase price available for a down payment. There will also be an estimated $500 monthly maintenance fee.
The available apartment has one bedroom, one-and-a-half bathrooms, a washer and dryer, and a dishwasher.
You can find out more, and apply for yourself — HERE.
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The only apt available is a 1 br and it’s priced according to the size of the family (1-3 people). Is that typical to have 3 people living in a 1 br apartment in a luxury building? How is that an acceptable guideline? I would have forgone the washer/dryer and dishwasher (plus the amenities) for a 2nd bedroom.
What a lucky person to have such a privilege! It really will be winning a lottery. I’m curious what incentive the developer received for offering this? I ask because someone in govt must have “signed off” on this? Is this really the best they could negotiate? Is the payoff another homeless shelter in the district? Are these the 2 option on UWS? Who signs off on this?
This is nuts. Can you imagine being the ONLY one? What the…
Who are you (and NYC Government) kidding…? The so-called ‘affordable housing’ is ONE UNIT? Aesthetically, it’s a hulking uncontextual mass…and it’s a classic example of the “lottery” branding which readily parallels junk promises of lottery ticket fortunes to be won at the local bodega.
“Affordable Housing” is the bait and switch rationale colluding CBs (with developer ringers on Board), dirty Mayor(s) and self-dealing Council Members (who-er-shall go nameless) have facilitated all over a NYC turned into an exclusive luxury product. The lie that keeps on giving.
This does not surprise me in the least.
ONE AFFORDABLE APARTMENT? IS THIS A JOKE? ONE?
and, laughingly, our politicians are most likely proud of this 1 unit!
Only 1 apt? How many tax breaks did the developer get for the one apt?
It’s a great price, however the apt. will be quite dark because it’s on the 2nd floor in the rear (facing backs of other buildings). Caveat emptor.
They should give it to that guy who won’t give his apt. up to developers. I just hope they had enough sense to not have separate entrance/exit to bldg. just for ONE. What a shame. What a sham. And if there are other amenities, they should also be the same for that one tenant. Jeez. What stupidity.
Not surprised there’s only one. There’s a protocol for calculating how many affordable apartments must be provided. It’s not an automatic number. Unless an area has been rezoned, don’t expect to see a large number of affordable units. You can’t expect a developer to give away apartments for nothing in return.
Upzone the neighborhood, remove some of the junk historic designations that take up a super majority of our neighborhood, and then we can build more apartments to create affordability for everyone not just a single lottery winner. WSR is behind on reporting the fundamental fact about why housing is so expensive – it’s a supply issue! First and last. The New York Times, the Obama administration, the Biden administration, the Atlantic, basically every liberal institution that doesn’t consist of “whatever elderly real estate owners decide to show up for a five hour community board meeting on a Tuesday night” have reached agreement on years ago.
If the lucky winner wants to sell in a few years am I right to assume there will be restrictions on the selling price and who is allowed to buy it? In other words will this until be “affordable” for all eternity?
It’s sad to think about how many tax breaks these developers received to build this with no benefit to the working class people of upper 96th street, this is the last semi affordable area around on the west side and this just put the nail in the coffin to that.
Do you have knowledge of any tax breaks given to the developers or are you just speculating they received them? Not every developer builds with tax breaks.
How much is the property tax? Does the unit have a tax abatement?
The estimated common charges do not appear to be the market for the building, so who makes up the difference if that is not the case?
For example, their smallest market 1BR common charge is $1,023/mo property tax $1,482/mo
with a sq footage of 734, listed at $1,405,000.
Generally speaking, common charges are based on square footage and the listings seem to show that to be the case (looks like about $1.394 per sq foot).
If all is at market a common charge of $500 (not maintenance fee this is a condo), implies, 358sq ft seems unlikely. If not, who is making up for the low common charge, is it all the other condo owners which is a small number just the other owners would be subsidizing the unit through the common charge (a couple dollars). That needs to be itemized into the other condo owners if that is the case.
If the requirement is to subsidize the affordable units that could become meaningful if it is say 20 percent of the units in a building (with reduced common charges).
There is a build coming up where the developer submitted 3 building heights according to the number of affordable units. The highest would-be 20 percent of the units that could add up to 10 percent to the other units (if that is how the common charge subsidy works).
One unit
The new building is beautiful! Hope we get more buildings like this replacing some of the rundown low-slung buildings in the neighborhood
Most questions answered in this thread can find answers here: https://www.city-data.com/forum/new-york-city-housing-lottery/3492485-250-west-96th-street-condominium.html
Not sure how one would afford the mortgage with the income restriction plus maintenance
UWS Dad wrote:
“The new building is beautiful! Hope we get more buildings like this replacing some of the rundown low-slung buildings in the neighborhood.”
Good luck with that….
Along Columbus and Amsterdam avenues and Broadway from 80’s through 90’s there are blocks and blocks of old to ancient five-six story/low rise buildings sitting on tons of used air rights (FAR) that could be redeveloped into new housing.
It won’t or largely doesn’t happen for several reasons.
1. Buildings are full of rent regulated tenants who cannot be touched.
2. Buildings fall into various landmark or historic zones (ditto).
3. The noise from NIMBY and others who want UWS frozen in time is often just too great.
While things sometimes do happen, such as 200 West 88th Street, which includes 568-574 Amsterdam Avenue as alternate addresses, it’s a drop in bucket.
Meanwhile on UES/Yorkville there is a building boom going on. Plenty of new buildings and more in pipeline with many having some sort of affordable or low income component.
https://newyorkyimby.com/2024/12/housing-lottery-launches-for-250-east-83rd-street-on-manhattans-upper-east-side.html
one???