Affordable Housing

Housing lottery opens for 20 rent-stabilized apartments at new Astoria development

  • New Yorkers who earn $62,983 to $146,900 can apply, and rents start at $1,718 for a studio
  • The eight-story building has a recreation room, gym, business center, and terrace
Celia Young Headshot
By Celia Young  |
April 18, 2024 - 9:30AM
A rendering of the eight-story building at 22-51 45th St.

Dattner Architects designed the eight-story building.

NYC Housing Connect

Housing lottery applications are open for 20 rent-stabilized apartments at a new development in Astoria, Queens. New Yorkers who earn $62,983 to $146,900 are eligible to apply, depending on the size of the household. Rents start at $1,718 for a studio.

The pet-friendly building at 22-51 45th St. has a laundry room, gym, business center, recreation room, co-working space, and terrace. It’s located just under a mile from the Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard subway station, serving the R and W trains.

A rendering of the coworking space in the eight-story building at 22-51 45th St.
Caption

A rendering of the coworking space at 22-51 45th St.

Credit

NYC Housing Connect

Designed by Dattner Architects, the eight-story building holds 64 units total and comes with multiple amenities, according to developer Mega Development. The building has a sauna, lounge, and a BBQ grill station on its second-floor terrace, according to Mega. It replaced a single-story industrial building, according to Department of Finance records.

The apartments are set aside for New Yorkers earning from 80 percent to 130 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 $113,000 for a two-person household. The apartments available include studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. 

A rendering of the lounge at the eight-story building at 22-51 45th St.
Caption

The 68,482-square-foot building also has a rooftop lounge.

Credit

NYC Housing Connect

There are 10 two-bedroom apartments available for households earning from $80,126 to  $122,000, depending on the number of people you live with. The rent for these apartments is $2,168. 

The developers have set aside 50 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."

Another 5 percent of the apartments will be preferentially given to NYC employees. A small percentage of the apartments are also set aside for residents with mobility, vision, and hearing needs. 

Applications must be submitted online or postmarked no later than June 10th.

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.

Celia Young Headshot

Celia Young

Senior Writer

Celia Young is a senior writer at Brick Underground where she covers New York City residential real estate. She graduated from Brandeis University and previously covered local business at the Milwaukee Business Journal, entertainment at Madison Magazine, and commercial real estate at Commercial Observer. She currently resides in Brooklyn.

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

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