


Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing initiative, meanwhile, requires developers to create permanent affordable housing in new developments where a rezoning would be required to build bigger. Who handles New York City’s affordable housing?ĭevelopers are given incentives by the city and state, such as tax breaks, to create affordable apartments through programs like “Affordable New York” (the replacement for the former 421-a incentive program). Here’s everything you need to know about applying, what to expect, and more.

But still, it’s worth a shot if you’re looking for an affordable place to live. That may have you feeling some despair about your chances of actually snagging one of these coveted apartments-and hey, we’re not going to pretend like one will magically fall into your lap. The first rental within the Domino Sugar redevelopment, for example, received 87,000 applications for just 104 apartments. As New York’s rental prices skyrocket and the demand for cheap housing grows ever-higher, more and more people are applying for the few affordable apartments available in qualifying buildings. Of course, while applying for an affordable apartment itself is easy, actually getting an apartment is not. The website, NYC Housing Connect, launched in 2012, and since then has made it easier-in theory-for New Yorkers to apply for affordable apartments in buildings across the five boroughs. Believe it or not, it was only seven years ago that the city’s affordable housing application process went digital.
