Section 8 Apartments in South Bronx

Transit Access

The South Bronx is served by the 2 and 5 trains (149th Street-Grand Concourse, Third Avenue-149th Street, Jackson Avenue, Prospect Avenue, Intervale, Simpson, Freeman, 174th Street, West Farms Square-East Tremont stations), the 4 train (138th Street-Grand Concourse, 149th Street-Grand Concourse, 161st Street-Yankee Stadium, 167th Street, 170th Street, Mt Eden, 176th Street, Burnside, 183rd Street, Fordham Road), the 6 train (Brook Avenue, Cypress Avenue, 3rd Avenue-138th Street, Longwood, Hunts Point Avenue), and the B and D trains (Yankee Stadium, 167th Street, 170th Street, 174th-175th Streets, Tremont, 182-183rd Streets). The Bx2, Bx4, Bx6 SBS, Bx9, Bx15, Bx17, Bx19, Bx21, Bx27, Bx33, Bx35, Bx41 SBS, and many other buses serve the area.

Voucher Housing in South Bronx

The South Bronx has the most affordable voucher housing market in NYC. Section 8 acceptance is universal in many buildings. The neighborhood has hundreds of HPD project-based Section 8 buildings — properties where the federal subsidy is permanently tied to specific units. NYCHA developments include Patterson Houses, Mill Brook Houses, Mott Haven Houses, Mitchel Houses, and Melrose Houses. Studios typically run $1,100-$1,500; one-bedrooms $1,300-$1,800; two-bedrooms $1,500-$2,200; three-bedrooms $1,900-$2,600; four-bedrooms $2,400-$3,200.

Local Services & Resources

Parks, Museums & Cultural Sites

NYCHA Developments in South Bronx

Major NYC Housing Authority developments in this neighborhood. Apply through the NYCHA Self-Service Portal at selfserve.nycha.info.

History & Cultural Identity

The South Bronx was largely built up in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a working-class immigrant neighborhood. Through the mid-20th century it was one of NYC''s major Jewish, Irish, and Italian neighborhoods. The construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway in the 1950s-60s by Robert Moses (cutting directly through the South Bronx, displacing thousands of families) is widely viewed as the catalyst for the neighborhood''s subsequent decline.

The 1970s-80s saw catastrophic disinvestment in the South Bronx: arson, abandonment, and population loss left large areas of the neighborhood in ruins. President Carter''s 1977 visit to Charlotte Street, surveying the destruction, became an iconic image of urban decline.

From the 1980s onward, the South Bronx has been the focus of one of the largest community-driven housing rebuilding efforts in U.S. history. Community development corporations (CDCs), federal HUD investment, NYC affordable housing programs, and tenant organizations have rebuilt thousands of housing units. Today the South Bronx has more subsidized affordable housing than any comparable area in the United States.

The South Bronx is also the birthplace of hip-hop — DJ Kool Herc''s 1973 parties at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue (in nearby Morris Heights) are widely considered the origin of the genre.

Schools

The South Bronx spans NYC DOE Community School District 7 (Mott Haven, Melrose), District 8 (Hunts Point, Soundview), District 9 (Concourse, Highbridge, Morris Heights), and District 12 (Crotona, Tremont, Morrisania). These districts have historically been among NYC''s lowest-performing but have received substantial recent investment.

Notable schools: P.S. 1 Courtlandt, P.S. 18 John Peter Zenger, IS 218 Salomé Ureña, the Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics, the Eagle Academy for Young Men (Mott Haven campus, a citywide network for boys of color).

South Bronx schools serve overwhelmingly low-income families and have substantial support infrastructure — universal free breakfast and lunch, full-time social workers, intensive after-school programs through DYCD, and Title I funding. Many schools have substantial dual-language Spanish/English programs.

For high school, the Bronx is home to the Bronx High School of Science (specialized, SHSAT-admission), one of the top-ranked public high schools in the United States.

Voucher Landscape

The South Bronx has the highest concentration of voucher and subsidized housing of any U.S. area:

• NYCHA Public Housing: Major developments including Patterson Houses, Mill Brook Houses, Mitchel Houses, Mott Haven Houses, Melrose Houses, Forest Houses, Morris Houses, and many others. Together these provide thousands of public housing units.
• HPD Project-Based Section 8: The South Bronx has the largest concentration of HPD project-based Section 8 in NYC — hundreds of buildings developed through HPD''s affordable housing programs since the 1980s
• Private-market Section 8 and CityFHEPS: Pre-war apartment buildings and smaller multi-family buildings throughout the neighborhood
• Mitchell-Lama: Several Mitchell-Lama cooperatives (state-subsidized middle-income housing, with significant voucher accessibility through their succession rules)

Distinctive feature: The South Bronx is the most reliable place in NYC to use a Section 8 voucher without rent overage. Voucher payment standards typically cover full unit costs throughout the neighborhood.

Cost of Living Context

The South Bronx has NYC''s most affordable rental market by significant margins:

• Studios: typically $1,000-1,400
• One-bedrooms: typically $1,200-1,800
• Two-bedrooms: typically $1,500-2,200
• Three-bedrooms: typically $1,900-2,600

These rents are well within voucher payment standards for most units, making the South Bronx the most reliable voucher-friendly area in NYC.

HPD Project-Based Section 8 — Why It Matters in the South Bronx

The South Bronx''s collection of HPD project-based Section 8 buildings is a distinctive feature. In project-based Section 8, the federal subsidy is permanently tied to specific units in specific buildings rather than to portable tenant vouchers. When a unit becomes vacant, HPD selects the next tenant from a waitlist for that building.

For voucher applicants who don''t have a tenant-based Section 8 voucher, project-based Section 8 is the most accessible path to subsidized housing in NYC. Apply through HPD''s Housing Connect lottery system when buildings have vacancies.

For voucher holders with tenant-based vouchers, many South Bronx buildings will accept your voucher even if the building also has project-based subsidy (the project subsidy pays the building; your voucher pays your share of rent up to the payment standard).

Source-of-Income Enforcement

The South Bronx has the lowest documented source-of-income discrimination of any NYC borough area, primarily because virtually all landlords accept vouchers (federal program rules require it for project-based buildings, and market dynamics favor it for private landlords). Where discrimination occurs, it tends to come from newer development companies catering to gentrification pressure. Contact Bronx Legal Services or CASA New Settlement for free representation.

Local Organizations

• BronxWorks: Major South Bronx social services organization
• CASA (Community Action for Safe Apartments): Tenant rights and organizing
• Nos Quedamos: Longstanding Latino community organization in Melrose
• Mount Hope Housing Company: Housing development and management
• Settlement Housing Fund: Major housing developer in the South Bronx and citywide

For broader Bronx context, see our Bronx borough guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is HPD project-based Section 8?

Project-based Section 8 is federal rental subsidy tied to specific units in specific buildings rather than to portable vouchers. When a unit becomes vacant, HPD selects the next tenant from a waitlist. The South Bronx has the largest concentration of HPD project-based Section 8 in NYC. Apply for project-based buildings through HPD's Housing Connect at housingconnect.nyc.gov.

Why is the South Bronx good for voucher families?

Three reasons: lowest rents in NYC (vouchers reliably cover full unit cost), highest concentration of subsidized housing, and strong tenant advocacy infrastructure (CASA, Bronx Legal Services, BronxWorks). Family-sized inventory is unusually deep for NYC.