Affordable Housing Lottery With $617 Units Opens in Brownsville

An affordable housing lottery has opened for 86 truly affordable apartments in a new Brownsville development, with one-bedroom units starting at $617 per month. The two-building, seven-story development, which has taken the place of two low-lying brick warehouses, also includes almost 40,000 square feet of light manufacturing space that will be operated by Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center.

Dubbed Bridge Rockaway Apartments, the new development at 203 Newport Street spans the block between Rockaway and Thatford avenues, but carves out the corner lot at Rockaway Avenue and Newport Street where the Newport Community Garden has long stood.

Included in the lottery are 86 rent stabilized and income restricted one-, two-, and three-bedroom units for families earning 30 to 70 percent of the Area Median Income. Income limits are set between $24,480 and $134,820 for households of one to seven people, according to the listing.

The 15 one-bedroom units start at $617 a month and go up to $1,271, the 46 two-bedrooms start at $728 a month and go up to $2,095, and the 25 three-bedrooms start at $830 a month and go up to $2,408 a month. In total, the building has 174 apartments, and those not included in the lottery are supportive units for households referred through city agencies.

Designed by Think! Architecture and Design, the Bridge Rockaway Apartment complex is made up of two seven-story concrete buildings that are linked by a large landscaped courtyard. Running down Rockaway and Thatford avenues, both are long rectangular buildings whose facades alternate in color between dark gray and beige, renderings show. A glass-paneled foyer on Newport Street marks the entrance to the building, and the first floor manufacturing space also has large glass windows.

The listing says the building has community rooms, an on-site laundry, outdoor recreation space and a garden, and 24-hour front desk security. Heat and hot water are included in the rent, but tenants have to pay for electricity, which includes electric stoves, the listing states.

The two buildings will both sit atop a combined 40,000 square foot light manufacturing workshop space, which will be operated by the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center. Designed to encourage local start-up companies, there will be space for ten to 12 local businesses to run small-scale manufacturing operations.

The governor’s Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative will provide funding for services for 35 units reserved for seniors and veterans in need of supportive services, and more than 50 additional apartments are earmarked for “chronically homeless” tenants, with services funded by the NYC 15/15 Congregate Supportive Housing Services Program.

Nonprofit social services provider The Bridge will operate the complex and manage the services. The organization currently provides mental health and substance abuse help, job training, and housing support to more than 4,000 people each year, according to its website.

At the project’s groundbreaking in 2022, Dan Garodnick, director of the city’s Department of City Planning, said “innovative public-private partnerships like this help push the boundaries on ways to connect New Yorkers to affordable homes and economic opportunity at once.”

“I’m happy to see this unique project move forward, one that thoughtfully and safely combines deeply affordable housing and nonprofit industrial space within the same building,” Garodnick said.

Developed by Mega Development and The Bridge, the Bridge Rockaway Apartments were funded through the city’s Extremely Low and Low-Income Affordability program, Inclusionary Housing program, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. Funds also came from the state’s Supportive Housing Opportunities program and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.

The Bridge Rockaway Apartments lottery closes September 23. To apply, visit the listing on New York City’s Housing Connect website.

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