Don't Call It Affordable Housing: Lottery Opens for Pacific Park Tower in Prospect Heights

The latest tower to go up in the long-in-the-works Pacific Park (Atlantic Yards) mega-development is a market rate one on the corner of Pacific and 6th Avenue in Prospect Heights, once known as B5. The developer, The Brodsky Organization, has applied for a tax break under the state’s 421-a program and as a result, the building has income-targeted, rent-stabilized units whose lottery launched last week. Interestingly, Brodsky is not calling them “affordable” but rather “middle income.”

The 421-a program is set at an Area Median Income of 130 percent — slightly more than the median income for the greater New York region. The apartments, designed by Marvel Architects and located at 662 Pacific Street just across from Barclays, are bigger and have nicer finishes than average new construction in Brooklyn. As for the monthly rents, they are half the price of comparable “market rate” units in the same building, known as Plank Road Apartments. The apartments are about the same or more expensive than a bigger unit in a non-stabilized prewar apartment in the same area would be. 

Rents start at $1,547 a month for a studio and top out at $3,219 for a two-bedroom. Eligible incomes range from $53,040 a year to $167,570 for households of one to seven people. So a family of three with an income of $110,366 – to $139,620 would pay $3,219 a month for a two-bedroom apartment.

You can see all the details and apply through the city’s Housing Connect website. The lottery closes January 18.

The 312-unit rental building’s luxurious amenities include a swimming pool, rooftop terrace and children’s lounge for an additional monthly fee. Every unit has its own washer/dryer, and rents include heat and hot water but not electricity.

Developed by Forest City Ratner, Pacific Park is controversial for using eminent domain for private, for-profit development. After delays in the project, in 2014, the Empire State Development Corp. mandated affordable housing at the 22-acre, 17-building complex be delivered by 2025.

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