An affordable housing lottery launches for 24 apartments near Times Square

Housing lottery applications are open for 24 rent-stabilized studio apartments at 271 West 47th St. in Manhattan’s Theater District. New Yorkers who earn $101,486 to $146,900 are eligible to apply, depending on the size of their household. Rent is set at $2,960 for each studio.

The pet-friendly building between West 47th and West 48th streets has a gym, yoga studio, game room, coworking space, and outdoor terrace. New lessors will get two months of free rent at the 53-story tower, located near the 1, 2, D, F, M, N, Q, and R subway lines. 

The apartments are set aside for New Yorkers earning up to 130 percent of the area median income (AMI)—a metric that depends on how many people you live with. The AMI for a two-person household in New York City is $113,000 as of this year. 

Owned by Slate Property Group and BentallGreenOak, the residential tower was designed by Schuman, Lichtenstein, Claman & Efron in 2003, Commercial Observer and New York YIMBY reported. It holds 464 units total. 

Its 24 income-restricted units are rent stabilized under an anticipated extension of the state’s 421-a program, which requires that at least 5 percent of the building’s apartments be leased to residents making less than 130 percent of AMI. NYC residents will receive general preference for rentals.

Applications must be submitted online or postmarked no later than September 1st. 

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.