{"id":191294,"date":"2026-04-09T20:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/191294\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T20:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:07:10","slug":"affordable-housing-lottery-offers-new-york-city-rents-below-600-in-a-newly-constructed-high-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/191294\/","title":{"rendered":"Affordable Housing Lottery Offers New York City Rents Below $600 in a Newly Constructed High-Rise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rent may cost a fortune in many metros\u2014but not in this newly constructed eight-story building tucked away in a desirable neighborhood in New York City<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 146-unit residential building at 50-25 Barnett Ave. in Sunnyside, Queens,<\/a> is offering monthly rents starting at an astonishingly low $545 a month.<\/p>\n

The catch? You have to be low-income<\/a> and you have to be extremely lucky. Only two of those ultralow-priced units are available, and no doubt, thousands of people will apply for them.<\/p>\n

You can try your luck with the housing lottery<\/a> here at Housing Connect NYC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Things you should know: Those two below-$600 apartments are studios, with a limit of two people per household. To snag one, you have to earn only 30% of the area median, or between $22,492 to $34,020 if you’re a single person, or $22,492 to $38,880 for two people.<\/p>\n

If a studio isn’t your thing, there are one-bedrooms in the same building going for the also-astonishingly low monthly price of $693. Eight of these units are available, so you have a slightly better chance of snagging one.<\/p>\n

For a one-bedroom, a resident can earn $28,080 to $34,020. Two people can earn up to $38,880, and three up to $43,740.<\/p>\n

Additionally, within the 30% of the median-income category, there are six two-bedroom units and two three-bedroom units up for grabs. The top rent in the category is an enviably low $925.<\/p>\n

Beyond income requirements, you also can’t have assets worth more than $48,600.<\/p>\n

If you don’t qualify, don’t despair. There are also apartments set aside for those who earn 50% of the area’s median income, as well as 80%. Household earnings can include salary, hourly wages, tips, Social Security, child support, and other income.<\/p>\n

The largest number of apartments (47) is set aside for those earning 80% of the area’s median income who want a one-bedroom apartment. For those, the rent is $2,211, and more in line with the neighborhood median rent of $3,150\u2014but still significantly cheaper.<\/p>\n

In fact, you can earn up to $160,720 and still qualify to live in the building.<\/p>\n

“You might not think\u00a0someone with a $100,000 income\u00a0would need affordable housing, but this is\u00a0New York, after all,” New Yorker Michael Halden<\/a> previously told Realtor.com.<\/p>\n

A small percentage of units is set aside for those with mobility or vision\/hearing impairment. Additionally, 10% are set aside for those living within community board 02, and 10% for municipal employees or military veterans.<\/p>\n

For the full breakdown of rents and income requirements, visit Housing Connect NYC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How are winners chosen?<\/p>\n

“Nobody really knows how it works. It’s like figuring out how magic works,” Douglas Elliman top 1% rental agent Keyan Sanai<\/a>, who lives in a building with 20% affordable units, tells Realtor.com\u00ae.<\/p>\n

However, according to the fine print, after the application deadline of June 8, 2026, candidates will be selected for review through a lottery process.<\/p>\n

If you’re selected and “appear to qualify,” then you’ll be “invited” to submit documents to prove your eligibility, including household size, identity of members of your household, and your household income.<\/p>\n

You may not hear from anyone for two to 10 months after you apply.<\/p>\n

Welcome to The Barnett<\/p>\n

Let’s say that luck is on your side and you snag one of these gloriously affordable apartments. Where will you be living?<\/p>\n

The Barnett is an elevator-building with amenities that include a part-time concierge, on-site resident manager, fitness center, community room, children\u2019s playroom, package room, and landscaped courtyard.<\/p>\n

Units come with microwaves, dishwashers, and electric stoves. Your rent includes heat and hot water. And, yes, pets are welcome. Additionally, there are about 170 parking spaces.<\/p>\n

It’s a smoke-free building, and there are no fees of any kind to apply.<\/p>\n

The mixed-use building comes with 5,323 square feet of office area that will be reserved for nonprofit use, according to YIMBY<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The building was developed by Phipps Houses<\/a>, the largest and longest-running nonprofit developer, owner, and property management company of affordable housing projects in New York City, founded by Henry Phipps in 1905. Yes, affordable housing was needed back then, too.<\/p>\n

“The goal was to create a safe, sanitary space for people to live in and for children to have a place to play,” says the website.<\/p>\n

Phipps Houses isn’t new to Sunnyside. The firm also developed the Sunnyside Garden Apartments<\/a>, renowned for their lush interior gardens designed by landscaper Marjorie Sewell Cautley. The final buildings were completed in 1935.<\/p>\n

As for the neighborhood, it offers plenty of retail, medical centers, public transport, restaurants, grocery stores, banks, day care centers, and everything else you need for day-to-day living, all within strolling distance.<\/p>\n

The “nabe” is also very close to the popular neighborhoods of Long Island City and Astoria. It is also considered safe and family-friendly, with an overall crime grade<\/a> of A-.<\/p>\n

The only downside of this lottery is your chances. If you’re interested, don’t delay your application.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rent may cost a fortune in many metros\u2014but not in this newly constructed eight-story building tucked away in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191295,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[433,76577,54798,76576,33716,9,24,55,54,56,10173],"class_list":{"0":"post-191294","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-affordable-housing","9":"tag-desirable-neighborhood","10":"tag-housing-connect-nyc","11":"tag-income-requirements","12":"tag-median-income","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","16":"tag-new-york-city-news","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-residential-building"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}