Voucher-Friendly Apartments on the Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, along Manhattan's East River waterfront, holds one of the densest concentrations of NYCHA public housing in the city — a rare affordable foothold in an expensive part of Manhattan.
About Lower East Side
The Lower East Side (LES) runs along the East River in southeastern Manhattan, a historically immigrant, working-class neighborhood. Its waterfront edge, from Grand Street up through Alphabet City, holds a remarkable string of large NYCHA developments that keep the area accessible to voucher holders.
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30 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.
- Vladeck Houses — Public housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
622 Water St 10002
- Samuel Gompers Houses — Public housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
100 Pitt St 10002
- La Guardia Houses — Public housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
286 South St 10002
- Rutgers Houses — Public housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
160 Madison St 10002
- Lands End Ii — Project-Based Section 8 in New York City
275 Cherry St 10002
- Avalon Chrystie Place I at 229 Chrystie St Ph 3 — Tax-credit housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
229 Chrystie St Ph 3 10002
Tax-credit affordable housing361 unitsContact the management office - Tax-credit affordable housing263 unitsContact the management office
- Grand Street Guild North — Project-Based Section 8 in New York City
131 Broome St 10002
- Grand Street Guild South East — Project-Based Section 8 in New York City
460 Grand St 10002
- Grand Street Guild South West — Project-Based Section 8 in New York City
410 Grand St 10002
- Two Bridges Towers at 82 Rutgers St — Tax-credit housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
82 Rutgers St 10002
Tax-credit affordable housing198 unitsContact the management office - Pueblo Nuevo Site I — Project-Based Section 8 in New York City
210 Stanton St 10002
- Cooper Square Associates — Project-Based Section 8 in New York City
10 Stanton St 10002
- Two Bridges Senior Apartments at 80 Rutgers St — Tax-credit housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
80 Rutgers St 10002
Tax-credit affordable housing109 unitsContact the management office - Site 5 - Essex Crossing at 145 Clinton St — Tax-credit housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
145 Clinton St 10002
Tax-credit affordable housing105 unitsContact the management office - Site 2 Dsa Affordable Mt at 125 Delancey St — Tax-credit housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
125 Delancey St 10002
Tax-credit affordable housing101 unitsContact the management office - Essex Crossing Site 6 at 175 Delancey St — Tax-credit housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
175 Delancey St 10002
Tax-credit affordable housing100 unitsContact the management office - Norfolk Apartments II at 141 Norfolk St — Tax-credit housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
141 Norfolk St 10002
Tax-credit affordable housing52 unitsContact the management office - David Podell — Project-Based Section 8 in New York City
179 Henry St 10002
- Affordable apartments at 147 Rivington St — Tax-credit housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
147 Rivington St 10002
Tax-credit affordable housing36 unitsContact the management office - Aafe Housing at 108 Norfolk St — Tax-credit housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
108 Norfolk St 10002
Tax-credit affordable housing24 unitsContact the management office - Affordable apartments at 161 Allen St — Tax-credit housing in Lower East Side, Manhattan
161 Allen St 10002
Tax-credit affordable housing13 unitsContact the management office - Baruch Houses — NYCHA Public Housing on the Lower East Side
605 FDR Drive 10002
Public housing
See every subsidized property near you on HUD's Resource Locator →
Listings in Lower East Side
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Transit Access
The Lower East Side is served by the F train (Delancey Street, East Broadway, and Second Avenue), the J, M, and Z trains (Delancey Street-Essex Street), and the B and D trains (Grand Street), with many bus routes along Houston, Delancey, and Grand Streets.
Voucher Housing in Lower East Side
The Lower East Side has one of the deepest supplies of public housing in Manhattan. Baruch Houses — the largest NYCHA development in Manhattan — plus Jacob Riis Houses, Lillian Wald Houses, LaGuardia Houses, Vladeck Houses, and others line the waterfront, together holding many thousands of subsidized apartments. In an expensive part of Manhattan, this cluster is a rare affordable anchor for voucher families.
About Lower East Side
The Lower East Side has a long immigrant history — Jewish, then Latino (especially Puerto Rican and Dominican) and Chinese — and its public housing communities remain heavily Latino and Asian and lower-income, even as the surrounding neighborhood has gentrified.
Local Services & Resources
The Lower East Side has strong tenant and community resources, including the Lower East Side Legal Center and legal-aid groups, University Settlement, Henry Street Settlement, and Grand Street Settlement, plus nearby HRA offices. These groups help with applications, tenant rights, and eviction prevention.
Parks, Museums & Cultural Sites
Landmarks include the Tenement Museum, Seward Park, East River Park, Essex Market, and the Williamsburg Bridge, with the historic Orchard Street and Grand Street corridors nearby.
NYCHA Developments in Lower East Side
Major NYC Housing Authority developments in this neighborhood. Apply through the NYCHA Self-Service Portal at selfserve.nycha.info.
| Development | Neighborhood | Address | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baruch Houses | Lower East Side | 595 FDR Dr | 2,194 |
| Jacob Riis Houses | Lower East Side | 454 E 10th St | 1,191 |
| LaGuardia Houses | Lower East Side | 282 Madison St | 1,093 |
| Lillian Wald Houses | Lower East Side | 20 Avenue D | — |
The Lower East Side is one of Manhattan's most expensive neighborhoods to rent in privately, but it also holds one of the densest clusters of NYCHA public housing in the city — which makes it a rare affordable anchor for voucher holders in Manhattan.
Why the Lower East Side matters for voucher families
Baruch Houses is the largest NYCHA development in Manhattan, and it is joined along the waterfront by Jacob Riis, Lillian Wald, LaGuardia, Vladeck, and other developments holding many thousands of subsidized apartments. Together they offer a deep supply of family-sized homes with direct access to Lower Manhattan jobs and transit — hard to match anywhere else in the borough.
Your rights as a voucher holder here
New York protects renters from source-of-income discrimination statewide under the Human Rights Law (Executive Law sections 292 and 296), strengthened by the 2019 Source of Income Non-Discrimination Act. A landlord on the Lower East Side generally cannot refuse you, charge more, or advertise "no programs" because you would pay with a voucher. You can file a complaint with the NYC Commission on Human Rights or the New York State Division of Human Rights.
How to find a unit
Apply to NYCHA and to HPD project-based buildings through Housing Connect at housingconnect.nyc.gov. Because private-market rents here are very high, confirm a unit falls within your voucher payment standard before applying, and work with voucher-friendly brokers and the neighborhood's settlement houses and legal-aid groups.
Get help
Free housing specialists and legal-aid organizations serving the Lower East Side can help you search, apply, and enforce your rights.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is the Lower East Side affordable for voucher holders?
- The private market is very expensive, but the Lower East Side has one of Manhattan's densest clusters of NYCHA housing — including Baruch Houses, the largest development in Manhattan — making it a rare affordable anchor.
- Can a landlord on the Lower East Side refuse my voucher?
- Generally no. New York's statewide Human Rights Law bans source-of-income discrimination, so most landlords cannot refuse you just because you pay with a Housing Choice Voucher, CityFHEPS, or FHEPS.
- How do I find Section 8 housing on the Lower East Side?
- Apply to NYCHA and to HPD project-based buildings through Housing Connect (housingconnect.nyc.gov), and search the private market with voucher-friendly brokers, confirming the rent fits your payment standard.