Question: My husband and I are retired New York City Department of Education employees with a small pension and Social Security income. My husband has recently become disabled, and we are in urgent need of affordable housing. We had been living in the city for over 40 years, and went to Florida five years ago. It didn’t work out well, and we came back to NYC. We want to remain in NYC, so if you have any recommendations, suggestions or resources for senior/affordable housing I would be very grateful.
— Growing More Desperate in Ditmas Park
Dear Desperate:
Welcome back home! We missed you.
Who needs Florida anyway? Too hot and too bright.
So let’s see what New York can do to help you settle back in. The city and state have multiple programs and agencies for senior aid, especially housing. One big problem, however, is there are waiting lists everywhere. You will need to spend a lot of time on the phone trying to find a place.
Here are some places for you to start looking:
- The NYC Department of Aging publishes a borough-by-borough guide called “Alternatives in Senior Housing.” Each borough’s guide includes a great deal of generic information alongside extensive lists of senior housing resources — all the way from assisted living facilities to home-sharing programs to “Section 202” properties. (That’s a federal program for low-income seniors.)
- The New York Foundation for Senior Citizens runs several subsidized buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
- There are senior apartments sometimes set aside for seniors and the disabled in the city’s housing lotteries. Here’s a list of current lotteries and here’s an interactive version.
- Also, visit the Mitchell-Lama rentals page to see if you can get on a waiting list there. If your husband is a veteran, you may get preference.
David Crook is a veteran journalist and author of The Complete Wall Street Journal Real-Estate Investing and Homeowner’s Guidebooks. Do you have a question about anything real estate-related in NYC? Write him at askus@streeteasy.com. For verification purposes, please include your name and a phone number; neither will be published. Note: Nothing in this column should be considered professional legal advice. If you have a legal issue, consult an attorney.
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