New York City making it easier to live in affordable housing in the neighborhood of your choice
NEW YORK -- If you're looking for new affordable housing in the city, heads up, the rules are changing.
Now, it will be easier to move to the neighborhood of your choice, regardless of where you live.
Norly Estrella won the lottery -- the housing lottery -- by moving into a new apartment in East Harlem.
"I applied like six months ago and got my apartment right away," Estrellas said.
He said he loves his new place, but preferred to live closer to work.
"I wanted in Queens, but they didn't give it to me," Estrella said.
While we don't know why, the way the lottery system works is half of new affordable units offered through it, go to neighborhood residents. Estrella didn't live in Queens, rather in East Harlem.
"It shouldn't be having preference," Estrella said.
"What it does, you start with a segregated New York City, you give preference for people who already live in the community district, you perpetuate segregation," said attorney Craig Gurian, executive director of the Anti-Discrimination Center.
That's the argument behind a lawsuit filed in 2015 by attorney Gurian.
"Both of the plaintiffs in the case were people who were applying and getting turned down for apartments in neighborhoods where they wanted to live," Gurian said.
Nearly a decade later, the rules are changing. This week, the city settled the lawsuit, still allowing community preference but lowering it from 50% to 20% through April 2029. After then, it will dip to 15%.
"For us to have a less segregated city, which is long overdue," Gurian said.
Mayor Eric Adams released the following statement:
"Growing up on the edge of homelessness, I know what it is like to live without the security of housing. And from producing record levels of affordable housing to proposing our historic 'City of Yes' plan to unlock housing opportunities in every neighborhood, our administration is taking historic steps to connect working-class New Yorkers to safe, affordable homes," Adams said, adding, "This agreement, which allows the city to maintain the community preference policy, preserves a critical tool that lets us to build on this progress and continue creating new affordable housing in partnership with communities across the city. With this policy in place and local communities at the table, we can and will continue to provide affordable housing and economic opportunities for New Yorkers in every neighborhood."
The agreement also calls for the city to display a statement on housing lottery postings that it is committed to inclusivity in all neighborhoods and it supports New Yorkers to reside in the neighborhoods of their choice.
"New York City is committed to the principle of inclusivity in all of its neighborhoods, including supporting New Yorkers to reside in neighborhoods of their choice, regardless of their neighborhood of origin and regardless of the neighborhood into which they want to move," the agreement says.