Housing lottery open for affordable apartment building in the Bronx

THE BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) -- Construction is well underway at 1160 River Ave. – Tower B –  in the Bronx, and so is the submission phase of the building’s affordable housing lottery.

Eubakar Ceesay and his family won a lottery spot and moved into the recently completed adjacent Tower A last month.

"I have a low income. It's a very good idea so the people can afford to pay their bills," said Ceesay.

With Tower B now nearing completion, the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development has opened up a new affordable housing lottery.

Like its neighbor, the building features 250 units, from studios to three bedrooms, with several amenities.

All 500 units across both buildings are designated for affordable housing, with an overwhelming majority of them put into the lottery.

If you’re wondering what "affordable" means at this project, the answer starts with something called AMI, or Area Median Income, which is set by the federal government and takes into account the size of a household and where it falls on the AMI scale.

For example, there are eight studio apartments in the lottery renting for $465 a month to a single-person household on the lowest end of the AMI scale.

The maximum income range is about $18,000 to $29,000 a year.

For larger families, the lottery includes four three-bedroom units renting for $800 a month to a family of five on the lowest end of the AMI scale.

Their maximum income range is a bit higher - about $32,000 to $45,000 a year.

Ahmed Tigani, the first deputy commissioner for Housing Preservation and Development, said there is more to come.

"This year has been tremendous, made over 9,000 units available for New Yorkers. But more needs to be done, and we're working to get more projects online," said Tigani.

Linda’s family recently won a housing lottery spot, which allowed them to move out of public housing.

"Very big difference. Lovely. It's a brand-new start," said Linda.

About 50 of the units in each building are set aside to move homeless New Yorkers out of the already overburdened shelter system.

The city's Housing Connect lottery website can be found here. The lottery for Tower B closes on Feb. 22.