Where Affordability Is in the Eye of the Beholder

Moderate Income Rentals in Tribeca for Those Earning a Quarter of a Million Per Year

A waiting list for apartments in a luxury complex in Tribeca has opened for middle-income applicants. Washington Mews, the building at 89 Murray Street (near the corner of Greenwich Street) has begun accepting applications.

These apartments, where rent is capped by agreement between the building owner and government officials (in exchange for benefits such as tax abatements) are set aside for residents who are earning up to 175 percent of of New York’s area median income (AMI).

This translates into incomes ranging between $99,500 (for a household size of two people, in a two-bedroom unit) up to $231,700 (for a household of seven people, in a three bedroom unit).

Rents for these units, which are protected from excessive increases, range from $2,832 (for a two bedroom unit, occupied by two people) to $3,213 (for a three-bedroom apartment, housing seven people).

These figures may sound closer to astronomical than affordable, but market rate units in the same building for more than double these prices, with two-bedroom apartments starting at $5,990, which can rise to whatever the landlord chooses to charge upon each lease renewal.

Anyone wishing to join the waiting list must request request an application no later than this Friday (June 28), and is required to return a completed application by July 19. Applications can be requested in three ways. They are available online at: www.affrental.com. Paperwork can we requested in person by visiting the Affordable Housing Group management office (330 West 30th Street). And an application can be requested via mail by sending a self-addressed envelope to: Affordable Housing Group, 330 West 30th Street, New York, NY 10001.