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Take a Look Inside the Affordable Housing Complex at Hunters Point South

By Jeanmarie Evelly | December 15, 2014 12:09pm
 Monday is the last day to apply to one of the permanantly affordable units at the Long Island City site.
Construction at Hunters Point South
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LONG ISLAND CITY — Monday is the last day to apply for the housing lottery for the first phase of Hunters Point South, with about 925 rent-stabilized apartments up for grabs for moderate and low-income households.

Construction is underway at the two Long Island City buildings, which are being built by Related Companies, Phipps Houses and Monadnock Construction and are expected to be ready for occupancy this spring.

"I really believe in this," said Frank Monterisi, senior vice president for Related, on a recent tour of one of the buildings. "It's good for New York. It's a great project for Queens."

Apartments at the two waterfront buildings will be permanently affordable, Monterisi said, while offering sweeping views of the East River and the Manhattan skyline as well as a stock of amenities.

"This doesn't look like your traditional affordable housing model," he said.

The properties, at 1-50 50th Ave. and 1-55 Borden Ave., will be made up of studios, one, two and three-bedroom apartments with retail on the ground floor, with 738 units for moderate-income households and 186-units for low-income households.

Rents for the low-income apartments will start at $494 a month for a one-person studio, while  the moderate-income units will begin at $1,561 for the same. The income ranges needed to qualify can be found here.

The units will include 58 three-bedroom apartments, according to Monterisi, which are in demand in the neighborhood, where larger homes can be hard to come by. Each of the two and three-bedrooms will have a washer and dryer inside the apartment, and there will also be a communal laundry room.

The bigger of the two properties, on 50th Avenue, will have two "party rooms" on the 13th floor, one for dining and one that's more like a lounge. There will also be an outdoor deck with barbecue pits and lounge chairs, Monterisi said.

Another roof deck on the other side of the building will be called "the farm," and will have space for residents to grow vegetables and other plants, he said.

Other amenities will include a gym with a yoga studio and glass walls offering waterfront views, a parking garage with 250 spots, a children's playroom and a "pet amenity" space that may include things like pet-washing stations.

"We try to be really pet-friendly," Monterisi said.

Both buildings will also have ground-level retail, including an 11,000-square-foot Duane Reade and space for a restaurant.

Qualifying renters will be chosen via the city's affordable housing lottery. The application period for Hunters Point South began on Oct. 15 and will end Monday night, Dec. 15 at 11:59, according to NYC Housing Connect.

The number of people who have applied so far was not immediately available, though Monterisi said there's been a large amount of interest in Hunters Point South.

"Demand has been very strong," he said.