A new housing lottery in Brownsville is offering older New Yorkers the opportunity to apply for deeply subsidized apartments, including units where eligible tenants with specific vouchers and no income could pay no monthly rent.
The Gail P. Duke Senior Residence at 350 Livonia Avenue has opened applications for 47 apartments reserved for lottery applicants. Those units are part of a 141-home affordable development that also includes an on-site older-adult center. For eligible tenants with project-based Section 8 vouchers and no income, the tenant share of rent could be zero, while others will contribute a portion of their income toward rent.
Applications for the 47 newly built apartments can be submitted online or by mail through the city's Housing Connect portal, according to Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens. The sponsor's notice spells out building amenities, the mailing address and a key date: applications must be postmarked or submitted online by April 24, 2026. There is no broker fee, and apartments are slated to include universal broadband access along with the on-site older-adult center.
Who Qualifies and How $0 Rent Works
The lottery is limited to households where the head, spouse or sole member is at least 62 years old, and applicants must fall within specific income and household-size bands. As reported by PIX11, the current offering includes 24 studio apartments and 23 one-bedrooms, with posted income caps reaching from roughly the mid-60,000s to the low-70,000s depending on household size.
Under federal guidance, tenants with project-based Section 8 assistance generally pay about 30 percent of their adjusted income toward housing costs. That means a household with no reportable income could have a tenant share of $0, as per HUD.
Building Features, Services and Financing
The Gail P. Duke Senior Residence is planned as a 13-story, 141-unit development with a 10,000-square-foot older-adult center, on-site case management services and all-electric, energy-efficient systems, as noted by the NYC Housing Development Corporation. Financing combines low-income housing tax credits, HDC tax-exempt bonds and federal HOME and CDBG-DR funds, and the development is supported by project-based vouchers intended to lock in long-term affordability. In the HDC announcement, HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. said that older New Yorkers should not have to choose between a stable home and other essential needs.
Why It Matters in Brownsville
Local officials and advocates have been calling for more senior housing in eastern Brooklyn for years, pointing to a tight supply of affordable units and market rents that are out of reach for many longtime residents. Coverage of the project's groundbreaking noted that the development is slated to provide supportive programming, meals and a dedicated gathering space for seniors. Developers argue that pairing services with housing helps older tenants remain in their neighborhoods even as prices climb around them.
How to Apply and What to Expect
Applicants should submit only one application, either online via the Housing Connect system or by mailing a paper form to the sponsor, since duplicate applications can lead to disqualification. The sponsor lists the mailing address as Gail P. Duke Senior Residence c/o POP Management Corp., 191 Joralemon Street, 8th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201, and notes that most applicants are contacted somewhere between two and ten months after the application deadline.
For the full application packet and detailed eligibility rules, including income and household-size requirements, see the sponsor's notice from Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens.
