EAST VILLAGE — Own a piece of the East Village — for less than some New Yorkers pay each month in rent.
The Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association, which runs affordable co-ops in the East Village, is accepting applications for about a dozen below-market studios and one-bedroom apartments.
The winners of a housing lottery will be able to buy into the co-ops for "a few thousand dollars," and then they will only have to pay a monthly maintenance fee of less than $550, according to Val Orselli, the association’s director.
The last time the association sent out a request for applications was in 2001, and nearly 8,000 came in, Orselli said.
"It took seven or eight years to get to the end of that waitlist," Orselli said. "The demand is far greater than the supply."
To qualify for a studio, a person must make between $18,050 to $48,100. To qualify for a two-bedroom, a couple must make $20,600 to $55,000.
At least half of the apartments in the lottery will be prioritized for current residents of Community Board 3, which covers the Lower East Side, East Village and Chinatown.
The Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association — which was founded in 1990 by the Cooper Square Committee to preserve and develop tenant-controlled cooperative housing — runs 21 buildings in the East Village, many of which are located on East 3rd Street and East 4th Street.
Applications must be requested by April 21, 2014. To get one, send a standard postcard to Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association c/o Postal, 75 East 4th St. Suite 4149, New York, N.Y., 10003.
