Winning the Housing Lottery
The lucky winner of one of the city’s middle-income housing subsidy lotteries gets a write-up in Daily News today. The details are pretty envy-inducing: A guy who makes $85,000 a year as a technician at a high-definition video editing company entered a raffle sponsored by the Pratt Area Community Council (after reading about it on…
The lucky winner of one of the city’s middle-income housing subsidy lotteries gets a write-up in Daily News today. The details are pretty envy-inducing: A guy who makes $85,000 a year as a technician at a high-definition video editing company entered a raffle sponsored by the Pratt Area Community Council (after reading about it on this website!) and won the right to purchase a Clinton Hill rowhouse for $455,000. The monthly mortgage payments total $3,048. He’s now living there with his brother, who’s renting out the lower floors. However one feels about the “fairness” of these lottery systems, it’s hard not to be impressed by what PACC’s doing with these projects (like the earlier PACC restoration of 282 St. James Place pictured above); in addition to the obvious boon winning is to the lucky buyer, the restoration of these run-down houses has a very positive impact on the neighborhood. Are any readers among the other eight lottery winners for this batch of houses?
Brothers Find Sharing House is a Home Run [NY Daily News]
Steal This House! PACC Home Raffle Open Now [Brownstoner]
Lottery Lunacy? Allocating Middle-Income Subsidies [Brownstoner]
Photos from PACC.
I’m guest 12:01 and I am not jealous. I just think that there are a lot better ways to spend my money, my taxes, to improve neighborhoods. I work hard, own my home and pay a lot of money to the City, State and Feds. I don’t pay taxes so people who can easily afford a decent home should get subsidized housing at my expense. Let’s fix up the schools, improve parks, hire more police officers or renovate housing for the truly needy.
This is not the lottery! This is a hand-out to someone who does not need it. My taxes do not fund the prizes given out by the lottery. Presumably they are funded by the proceeds from the sale of lottery tickets – i.e. the people foolish enough to buy them.
1:16,it is possible to both note that one less run-down house is good AND still find fault with the system that put it there. it just seems especially egregious when you consider the vast stretches of dilapidated houses in areas of brooklyn that don’t get glowing puff pieces written in the NYT.
i agree each house counts, but if the intention of the lottery is to maintain socio-economic diversity in clinton hill, i think it’s too little, too late.
“it’s a token gesture at best. don’t get me wrong, i’m way jealous. but unless they start working on a larger scale, it’s kind of useless.”
Don’t worry, I didn’t get you wrong. It’s pretty CLEAR you’re jealous. Even if ONE abandoned property is restored to proper condition through this lottery, thereby making a small improvement on the neighborhood, how exactly is that useless? Granted this is no panacea, but because of this program, there’s one less crappy house in this neighborhood. I’m not sure why that would make you unhappy, but if you’re like many of the posters on this site, you are a generally unhappy person.
“it’s a token gesture at best. don’t get me wrong, i’m way jealous. but unless they start working on a larger scale, it’s kind of useless.”
Don’t worry, I didn’t get you wrong. It’s pretty CLEAR you’re jealous. Even if ONE abandoned property is restored to proper condition through this lottery, thereby making a small improvement on the neighborhood, how exactly is that useless? Granted this is no panacea, but because of this program, there’s one less crappy house in this neighborhood. I’m not sure why that would make you unhappy, but if you’re like many of the posters on this site, you are a generally unhappy person.
kuroko – the single guy, who is the owner and lives in the 3br, doesn’t have a kid. and where does it say that he works near clinton hill? the fireman (who earns $110k a year, more than the cap) and his wife (the feng shui consultant, a job almost as essential to the community as a dvd technician) whose income isn’t figured in) are the ones with the kid.
Why didnt you haters just apply? OHH I know why you were too lazy or had no faith.
Congrats to winner again and brownstoner for passing on the info!
“This is a gross misuse of government funds.”
Exactly. The house should have been sold with the proceeds going directly to the community instead of just a select handful of people. With $500K proceeds, you can give $10K downpayment assistences to 50 people! Instead of one person hitting the lottery, 50 people could have! Or what about creating more park space?
Total misuse of funds.
They should convert these houses into condos then sell those as affordable housing. Many people like hardworking single mothers would laugh at $455K being called affordable. Owning an entire brownstone is not part of the inherent rights of man. Or New Yorkers.
“This was a fair way to keep a little economic diversity in the neighborhood. I’d love to meet anyone of the haters in person to argue that it is a bad idea to give a single parent and a firemen a shot at living within striking distance of their jobs.”
this guy is none of the above just like a lot of others not to mention the lottery system doesn’t exclude ppl so its not just ‘single parents and firemen’ getting these homes. these are people who make a decent living and under usual circumstances could afford to buy a place of their own. 85K a year for a single man is clearly not needy. people at this salary range don’t need a handout they don’t need to be given a whole brownstone they can afford a condo just like the rest of the people in NY who don’t make enough to afford a 2M dollar home.