Housing lottery launches for 117 apartments in Harlem near the Apollo Theater
- New Yorkers who earn $29,555 to $117,390 are eligible to apply, and rents start at $788 for a studio
- The building is part of a larger development at the Marcus Garvey Village complex in Harlem
Housing lottery applications are open for 117 rent-stabilized apartments at a new development in Harlem. New Yorkers who earn $29,555 to $117,390 are eligible to apply, depending on the size of the household. Rents start at $788 for a studio.
The building at 212 West 124th St. has a terrace, bike storage lockers, and a shared laundry room. It’s located between the 125th Street station serving the A, B, C, and D lines on Manhattan Avenue and the 125th Street station serving the 2 and 3 trains on Malcolm X Boulevard.
Designed by architects Body Lawson Associates, the building sits within the Marcus Garvey Village complex in Harlem, a collection of apartment buildings near the Apollo Theater, according to the architecture firm. One of those properties, at 224 West 124th St., launched its lottery two years ago.
The apartments are set aside for New Yorkers earning 40 to 70 percent of the area median income (AMI)—a metric that depends on how many people you live with. Currently the AMI for New York City is $124,300 for a two-person household. The apartments available include studios, one-, and two-bedroom units.
There are 20 one-bedroom apartments available for households earning from $56,915 to $83,880 annually, depending on the number of people they live with. The rent for these apartments is $1,576 per month.
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."
Five percent of the apartments will be preferentially given to NYC employees. Another 5 percent of the units are also set aside for residents with mobility needs, with two percent of the units reserved for those with vision and hearing needs.
Applications must be submitted online or postmarked no later than Sept. 30th.
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.
