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.

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Section 8 Apartments in South Bronx

The South Bronx has one of the densest concentrations of Section 8 voucher housing in NYC. The neighborhood has been the focus of decades of affordable housing investment and today has extensive HPD project-based Section 8, NYCHA public housing, and small landlord voucher inventory.

About South Bronx

The South Bronx refers to the southern portion of the Bronx, including Mott Haven, Port Morris, Melrose, Concourse, and Highbridge. The neighborhood was devastated by disinvestment, arson, and population loss in the 1970s-1980s, then rebuilt through extensive affordable housing investment from the 1990s onward. Today the South Bronx has one of the largest collections of subsidized affordable housing in the United States. The population is predominantly Latino (especially Puerto Rican and Dominican) and African American.

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221 subsidized & affordable buildings

These buildings have federal rent subsidies attached to the unit — you apply to the building directly and pay about 30% of your income. Most keep their own waiting list, separate from the housing authority's voucher list. Tax-credit buildings are different: their rents are capped based on area income, not set at 30% of your income — contact the management office for current rents.

See every subsidized property near you on HUD's Resource Locator →

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ZIP codes in South Bronx

Section 8 & Affordable Housing in 10456 (South Bronx, Bronx)Section 8 & Affordable Housing in 10459 (South Bronx, Bronx)Section 8 Apartments in 10451 (Mott Haven, Bronx, NY)Section 8 Apartments in 10454 (Mott Haven, Bronx, NY)

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.

About South Bronx

The South Bronx refers to the southern portion of the borough including Mott Haven, Port Morris, Melrose, Concourse, Hunts Point, Morrisania, and Highbridge. The population is approximately 70% Hispanic/Latino (predominantly Puerto Rican and Dominican), 28% Black (African American and Caribbean American), and 2% other. The South Bronx has one of the largest Puerto Rican populations of any U.S. neighborhood and is also a major Dominican American community. Median household income is approximately $32,000 — among the lowest in NYC. About 85% of South Bronx households rent — among the highest rental rates in NYC. Approximately 40,000+ South Bronx households use Section 8, NYCHA Public Housing, project-based Section 8, or other rental assistance — the highest concentration in NYC.

Local Services & Resources

Major hospitals: Lincoln Medical Center (234 E 149th St — public, NYC Health + Hospitals; major South Bronx hospital), Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center (multiple campuses), St. Barnabas Hospital (nearby in Belmont).

Community organizations: BronxWorks (major South Bronx social services organization with multiple locations), CASA (Community Action for Safe Apartments — leading tenant rights organization), Nos Quedamos (longstanding Latino community organization in Melrose), Mount Hope Housing Company, Settlement Housing Fund (housing development).

HRA services: Crotona Job Center (1910 Monterey Ave), Melrose Job Center (260 E 161st St), Concourse Job Center (1375 Jerome Ave), Soundview Job Center (1910 Monterey Ave). The South Bronx has more HRA Job Centers than any other NYC area.

Libraries: Mott Haven Library (321 E 140th St), Melrose Library (910 Morris Ave), Hunts Point Library (877 Southern Blvd), Sedgwick Library (1701 Sedgwick Ave), Highbridge Library (78 W 168th St).

Legal aid: Bronx Legal Services (Legal Services NYC), Mobilization for Justice (Bronx office), CASA New Settlement, BronxWorks Legal Advocacy, Bronx Defenders (criminal defense plus civil legal services).

Parks, Museums & Cultural Sites

Yankee Stadium (East 161st St): Home of the New York Yankees. Bronx Museum of the Arts (Grand Concourse): Free museum focused on artists of African, Asian, Latino, and indigenous descent. The Mott Haven Historic District: Designated landmark area of late 19th-century rowhouses. Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture (Hostos Community College, 450 Grand Concourse): Cultural center with theater, gallery, and educational programs. Crotona Park (127 acres, between Tremont and Crotona Park East): Major neighborhood park with playgrounds, Crotona Park Pool (public, free in summer), Indian Lake, sports fields. St. Mary''s Park (147th-149th St): Large park in Mott Haven with playgrounds and recreation center. Concrete Plant Park: Industrial-themed waterfront park along the Bronx River. The Bronx Documentary Center (614 Courtlandt Ave): Photography and film center.

NYCHA Developments in South Bronx

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

Development	Neighborhood	Address	Units
Patterson Houses	Mott Haven	2864 3rd Ave	1,791
Mill Brook Houses	Mott Haven	575 E 137th St	1,255
Mott Haven Houses	Mott Haven	405 E 144th St	593
Mitchel Houses	Mott Haven	550 E 138th St	1,736
Melrose Houses	Melrose	286 E 156th St	1,167
Andrew Jackson Houses	Melrose	780 Westchester Ave	866
Forest Houses	Morrisania	1265 Tinton Ave	1,350
Morris Houses	Morrisania	1190 Jackson Ave	985
Morrisania Air Rights	Morrisania	1175 Boston Rd	836
McKinley Houses	Longwood	1080 Tinton Ave	716
Bronx River Houses	Soundview/West Farms	1290 Bronx River Ave	1,247

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.

What Your Voucher Covers

Voucher rent limits are set by each program, not by neighborhood. For new leases in 2026, CityFHEPS and NYCHA Section 8 cover rents up to $2,604 for a studio, $2,734 for a 1-bedroom, $2,997 for a 2-bedroom and $3,753 for a 3-bedroom, with all utilities included. HPD Section 8 sets its own payment standards. Rents vary widely from building to building, so check each apartment's rent against your shopping letter or voucher before you apply. Our CityFHEPS voucher amounts guide has the full 2026 table.

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.