A new affordable-housing lottery at Three Waterline Square on the Upper West Side is dangling one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments for under $1,000 a month, a price point that usually belongs in New York nostalgia, not current listings. The income-restricted homes sit inside Waterline Square’s newest glassy, amenity-packed tower, which otherwise rents at market rates.
City lottery records show the Three Waterline Square posting covers dozens of income-restricted units. Some one-bedrooms start as low as $782, while certain two-bedrooms are listed from $996 to $1,023, according to Weverit. Those lower rents sit in the 40% AMI band, with household income limits that change by bedroom size. Both the official posting and third-party listings note that rent covers heat, hot water and gas, and that tenants pay for electricity, per Homey.
What’s in the lottery
PIX11 reports that this round of the lottery includes 10 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments. The one-bedrooms are geared toward households of one to three people, and the two-bedrooms target households of two to five people, all with income ceilings tied to specific AMI bands. PIX11 also notes that the building will allow up to two pets per household, although reptiles and other exotic or un-domesticated animals are off the guest list. The lottery runs through the city’s standard Housing Connect system, and applications are handled through the online portal.
Luxury building, public-lottery slots
Three Waterline Square is a 34-story tower designed by Rafael Viñoly and anchored within the larger Waterline Square complex. According to CityRealty, the building’s amenity list reads like a high-end rental brochure: a fitness center, basketball courts, an indoor lap pool and sauna, in-unit laundry and children’s play spaces. The complex also includes a 2.6-acre public park and the Waterline Club, a multi-level underground amenities hub that ties the development together.
Who qualifies and how to apply
The income bands on the official posting put one-bedroom eligibility at roughly $30,515 to $58,320, and two-bedroom eligibility around $39,189 to $73,280, according to the Housing Connect advertisement. The application window runs through June 23, 2026, and all applications must be submitted via NYC Housing Connect, which also lays out the required documents and program rules. Prospective tenants should review the full Housing Connect posting for the precise eligibility chart before applying.
Why it matters
Listings that combine deeply subsidized rents with a full slate of luxury amenities are a rarity in Manhattan, which helps explain why this lottery has drawn attention from local outlets and housing watchers. Similar city lotteries advertising unusually low Manhattan rents have surfaced this spring and sparked a rush of applications, including one that featured Manhattan rents under $1,200. For renters who fit the income and household criteria, these programs can be a rare backdoor into neighborhoods that usually price out all but market-rate tenants.
If you qualify, you will need to get your application in through NYC Housing Connect before the June 23, 2026 deadline. For the original local writeup, see PIX11, and consult the official posting for the finer-print eligibility rules. Winners are selected by lottery and must verify income and household size before any lease is signed.
