The lottery for affordable units at 66 Rockwell Place, one of the new high rise towers in Downtown Brooklyn, opened in March 2013, but now, 17 months later, many of the units are still vacant. The units rent for as low as $546 per month for a studio, but the developer has struggled to find locals who fit the qualifications for the units. In other words, people in Downtown Brooklyn make too much money. A spokesperson for the building told DNAinfo that it's pretty common for developers to not meet the "50 percent community board preference quota," and the lottery has been expanded to all NYC residents who applied during the process, but no new applications have been taken.
However, some qualified residents may be being passed over for "silly errors and subpar credit scores." The Department of Housing Preservation and Development runs all affordable housing lotteries, and according to Rob Solano, director of Churches United For Fair Housing, "they won't even look at applications that are sent in large envelopes or via Priority Mail. They will throw out paper applications that have whiteout on the sheets." It's unclear how many units are vacant at 66 Rockwell or other Downtown Brooklyn buildings, but Solano and local politicians are hosting workshops to teach people how to properly apply for the units so they won't get turned away.
· Developers Struggle to Fill $546-a-Month Apartments in Downtown Brooklyn [DNAinfo]
· 66 Rockwell Place coverage [Curbed]
Photo of 66 Rockwell Place via NY YIMBY
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