- Sending a letter for nyc housing connect verification#
- Sending a letter for nyc housing connect download#
I stroked my color-coded binder and wished presentation was all that mattered. I noted one carried her paperwork in scraps in a brown paper bag. I looked around at the other applicants and sized them up. I showed up early, took a seat, my beautifully crafted binder of my lap, less Penske file and more a work of art. I knew that as I still had that added savings, they’d add it to my "income" and bring me right in the middle of the range. This time around, I was sure to apply even though my income was slightly under what they needed. I never got a straight answer and even appealed to the lottery review commitee but was simply told that I was $600 over their limit. I asked what metrics they used to determine total gross income beyond any assets and actual income reported to the IRS. They took one look and ruled me out.įrustrated, I tried to ascertain what formula they used to calculate how much each dollar in savings would bring up one’s gross income. I had all the paperwork required and a perfect binder, but what they had neglected to say was that if you have a large sum of money in the bank they raise your total income. Last time I went on the interview I was sure I’d make it because I fit perfectly in the required salary range for the last three years. I had gone through this process before, so I was wary while trying to remain optimistic. Luckily, after explaining what a huge payoff it would be to get a nearly $3,600 one-bedroom for about $800 a month, they were all rooting for me. I carried that binder around for days like a mental patient showing it to the T-mobile clerk who kindly printed out my last bills and then onto my bank manager explaining why I was requesting they do days of work trying to find copies of each check I deposited from clients in the last six months. I carefully organized each request chronologically with originals on top and copies behind. I got an eight-pocket file folder, and neurotically labeled each section and color-coded each category. I’m super-organized and love nothing better than a project.
Sending a letter for nyc housing connect verification#
I was given about 10 days to compile originals and copies of my passport, birth certificate, social security card, last three years of income tax returns including 1099s (I’m a freelancer), the last six months of my ConEd, cable, phone and internet services bills, the last six months of all savings and checking account activity and balances including all ATM withdrawals and deposits, my last six months of rent receipts, contact information for my current and past landlord, verification of income for the last six months (this is tricky for freelancers because we do not have check stubs and our income varies) and two money orders for application fees. This time around, I was again one of the lucky ones to advance to the interview process. I had applied in the past to several lotteries and only advanced to the interview once, about three years ago, at Midtown's Emerald Green luxury rental building (pictured). After a rigorous interview process (more on that below), I was ultimately rejected for going over the income requirement by a measly $600 per year. Names were randomly chosen and the lucky applicants received a letter with an appointment date on it. They are typically chosen randomly.įor the one I applied for this summer-a building going up on 39 th Street called Crystal Green (the building is still in its early stages so there's no website to speak of yet)-I was told over 10,000 applications were received and those applicants who currently lived within the same community board were given first priority along with the disabled. Out of thousands of applicants only a few hundred are chosen to actually participate in the review process.
Sending a letter for nyc housing connect download#
It works like this: Lotteries are announced on the city's housing site information on income restrictions and ranges is listed and varies from building to building if you fit the income range, download an application from the site or write to request one. So when I heard about one on the NYC.gov site in Hell’s Kitchen at the start of the year I applied. In NYC oftentimes when a luxury rental building is being constructed, developers will offer 20% of the units to lower-to-middle income tenants at a drastically reduced rate in order to get tax incentives. The ultimate possibility for rejection? Profound. While I didn’t have to go through a public stoning by the community, the sheer amount of paperwork one must compile and present in addition to doing in-person interviews was daunting. I recently entered a NYC Housing “Lottery” which turned out to be only slightly less stressful than that described in Shirley Jackson’s short story of the same name.