West Farms Lottery Opens Four Units, But Rent Requires $75K Income

A new affordable housing lottery has opened for four apartments at 2074 Honeywell Avenue in West Farms, with studios starting at $2,000 a month and one-bedrooms at $2,092. The six-story building sits near Mapes Park and the Bronx Zoo, but the income floor to qualify — at least $75,840 a year for a studio — is more than double the neighborhood's median household income.

The lottery, first reported by Bronx Times, covers two studios and two one-bedroom units inside a 20-unit residential building that also includes 16 market-rate apartments. The building was developed by Eliezer Grunberger of EZ Builders Corp. and designed by Vasilios Artemiou, according to the outlet's reporting. All four affordable units are reserved for households earning 80% of the Area Median Income, a threshold that requires studio-unit households to earn between $75,840 and $108,560 annually, while one-bedroom households must earn between $81,326 and $122,160. Housing lottery units also carry an asset limit of $135,680.

Applications must be submitted by September 15, 2026, either online through NYC Housing Connect or by mail to 2074 Honeywell Avenue, c/o Taxace NY LLC, 139 Tompkins Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11206. Qualified applicants must meet additional selection criteria along with standard housing and income size requirements; studio units allow no more than two occupants, while one-bedroom units permit up to three.

Why the Income Math Rarely Adds Up Locally

The gap between who can apply and who actually lives in West Farms is stark. According to U.S. Census Bureau data compiled in 2025 and cited by Point2Homes, the median annual household income in West Farms is just $36,309, with 34.2% of residents living below the federal poverty line — figures that fall well short of even the lowest qualifying income for these units.

That mismatch is baked into the financing structure behind the building. Under New York State's 485-x tax incentive program, known as Affordable Neighborhoods for New Yorkers and enacted in 2024, new rental developments with 6 to 99 units must set aside at least 20 percent of apartments as permanently income-restricted at a weighted average of 80 percent of Area Median Income, according to the NYC Housing Development Corporation. That formula is why a 20-unit building like 2074 Honeywell set aside exactly four units rather than a larger share. For 2026, the AMI standard set by HUD pegs 100% AMI for a three-person household at $152,700, per the NYC Housing Partnership, which establishes the 80% cap at $108,560 for two people and $122,160 for three.

A Pattern Repeating Along the Same Block

West Farms renters have seen this dynamic before. Five blocks away on the same street, a housing lottery opened in April 2025 for 17 units at 2070 Honeywell Avenue, a seven-story, 54-unit building where rents started higher, at $2,440 per month, targeting households at 130% AMI. Building permits were also filed in June 2025 for a seven-story, 31-unit project directly across the street at 2075 Honeywell Avenue, according to New York YIMBY, showing how active residential construction has become on this single block.

Not every nearby project skews toward middle incomes. Construction completed in July 2026 on 872 Bronx Park South in West Farms, an eight-story building that opened a lottery for 53 rent-stabilized units starting at $1,031 per month for households earning 50% to 80% AMI — a rent point far more in reach for the neighborhood's lower earners. The city has also paired private development with smaller public projects: in August 2026, permit applications were submitted for an NYC HPD infill development at 851 Fairmount Place to build a six-story, 10-unit building on a municipal lot, a project Hoodline detailed earlier this month.

Renters Face a Tight Market With Few Local Guarantees

The stakes for local applicants are heightened by New York City's rental market conditions. In NYC Council District 17, which covers West Farms, 58.2% of households are rent-burdened and the local rental vacancy rate stands at just 1.5% as of 2026, according to city figures. Department of City Planning data also show that 95.4% of occupied housing units in Bronx Community District 6, which includes West Farms, are renter-occupied, leaving homeownership at just 4.6% — underscoring why rental lotteries like this one draw intense local interest.

Applicants hoping for a local edge should also note a national policy shift. Following a 2024 federal court settlement, New York City reduced its Community Board preference set-aside in NYC Housing Connect lotteries from 50% to 20% of available units for applicants residing within the building's community district, meaning fewer guaranteed slots for West Farms residents than in years past.

What the Building Offers Beyond Rent

Beyond price, the building includes an elevator, an accessible entrance, a bike storage room and an outdoor recreation space, and smoking is prohibited inside the property. Tenants are responsible for their own electricity, including heat, hot water and stove. The location sits near the West Farms Square-East Tremont Avenue subway station, which serves the 2 and 5 trains, as well as bus stops for the Bx9, Bx19, Bx36, Bx40, Bx42 and Q44-SBS lines. Nearby schools include the School of Applied Science and Learning and M.S. 129 the Academy for Independent Learning and Leadership, with Vidalia Park and the Bronx Zoo both within walking distance.