Affordable Housing for Artists?
Recent studies have shown that, in this era of rising housing costs and growing inequality, it is actually impossible to be an artist in New York City without being one of those starving kinds. But for once, there’s actually good news if you’re an artist in New York: the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development is now taking lottery entrants for affordable artist housing at Artspace PS109. Studios start at $494 per month, and two-bedroom apartments are $1,022.
There’s one catch: you have to move to Manhattan! Everyone’s doing it. Artspace PS109 is located at 215 East 99th Street, in East Harlem, and contains 3,000 square feet of residential gallery space (!), open floor plans, outdoor courtyard, and on-site laundry. There are 89 units in total, with 50% being held for residents of Community Board 11 in Manhattan, which requirement few readers of this site will meet. However, working artists who live in New York will receive a “general preference” for the rest of the lottery units, provided they meet the income requirements.
Brooklyn–who needs it? Sure, the architectural rendering of the space looks like a SimCity development, but the housing department can surely find a better drawer soon, right? Get thee over to NYC Housing Connect and apply, before you have to move upstate.
Follow Phillip Pantuso on Twitter @phillippantuso.