Roughly 6,000 people have come through a small storefront in Chinatown since the city began accepting applications in March for the affordable apartments at the Lower East Side megaproject Essex Crossing.
The hopeful applicants come from all over, including Brooklyn and Queens, to line up beginning at 6 a.m. outside the office of Asian Americans for Equality to seek language assistance and help filling out forms, DNAinfo reported.
The majority of those people, about 4,000, are senior citizens who hope to catch one of the 99 low-cost senior apartments at 175 Delancey Street, which rent for as little as $396 per month.
The other 2,000 people have come through hoping to land one of 104 affordable apartments at Essex Crossing’s “Site 5” at 145 Clinton Street, where units can be had for as little as $519 per month.
“Right now it’s overwhelming,” said Chris Kui, executive director of the small nonprofit. “Our staff is really overwhelmed and working overtime.”
A partnership of L+M Development Partners, Taconic Investment Partners and BFC Partners is developing the $1.5 billion megaproject, which is spread out over 10 sites.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation in February filed plans for a 93-unit apartment building at “Site 8” at 140 Essex Street. All of the units at that building will be affordable and exclusively for seniors. [DNAinfo] – Rich Bockmann