Wallet Watch newsletter: Where's the affordable housing?
Source: CoStar Group. Includes all unit sizes in professionally managed buildings (5+ units). Excludes senior and affordable housing.
Last year, 1,741 people applied for the chance to rent apartments between around $1,250 and $1,550 — below market rate — at a new building on Bedell Street in Hempstead. Only 53 were selected.
Yola Augustin was one of them. It took nearly two years of searching to find a new home that she could afford for herself and her adult brother, who has Down syndrome. Getting the chance to rent an apartment at Estella felt "like actually winning the New York Lottery," she said.
It's a high stakes market for renters like Augustin, who face a crowded field of applicants and a web of rules and eligibility requirements to find a place in Long Island's affordable housing market.
More than half of Long Island renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing, spurring hundreds or even thousands to apply for just a handful of affordable units available through lotteries like the one for Estella.
Yola Augustin at her apartment in Hempstead in mid-May. Augustin received an apartment at Estella, an affordable-housing building in Hempstead, after being selected through a lottery. Credit: Alejandra Villa Loarca / Newsday Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
There is help out there — but to find it, renters must navigate a complicated, fragmented and fiercely competitive system of lotteries, waitlists and voucher programs with varying income restrictions.
This week for Wallet Watch, Newsday residential real estate reporter Jonathan LaMantia and I spoke with housing advocates, developers and local officials to break down how these systems work, why "affordable" housing can sometimes still feel out of reach and where renters can search for opportunities.
Read the full story here.
From our readers
A reader on Facebook, @NYCBroadwayBaby, asks:
We already pay for state parks through taxes. Why do we also have to buy park passes to enter?
Our taxes fund some of the budget needed to run New York's state parks, but not all of it. Visitor revenue makes up about one-third of the system's budget and helps pay for upkeep, staffing and park services, a spokesperson for the agency said. But if you want to enjoy some tax-funded nature without paying extra, there are a few ways to do it.
Check with your local public library to see if you can borrow an Empire Pass, which waives the vehicle entrance fee, typically between $6 and $10 for a day. Most libraries lend the pass for a period of three to seven days, depending on the branch, as long as you have a valid library card.
Buying your own pass starts at $80 for a physical card, while a digital pass costs $72; both are valid through Dec. 31 of the year purchased. The pass can be shared with family and friends, but it can only be used for one vehicle at a time.
There are programs that offer free passes to veterans, active military members, people with disabilities and New Yorkers 62 and older. You can also avoid the vehicle fee by walking or biking instead. And many parks and historic sites around the state are free to access.
On Long Island, that includes:
- Brentwood State Park, Brentwood
- Brookhaven State Park, Ridge
- Cold Spring Harbor State Park, Cold Spring Harbor
- Shadmoor State Park, Montauk
- Trail View State Park, Woodbury
Have a question you'd like to submit? Confused by a bill? Spotted a price hike? Ask our team and we might answer it in the next edition. Email walletwatch@newsday.com or click here.
Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
