Winning, then losing, the housing lotteryFor many disabled New Yorkers, the city’s affordable housing lottery seems like the answer.
Under city guidelines, only 5 percent of units are set aside for tenants with mobility disabilities and 2 percent for people with hearing or vision disabilities, and zoning laws don’t allow any crossover.
“They don’t understand the gravity of what they’re doing.”Sabrina Bennett, 38, has been applying to the housing lottery for more than a decade, before she became disabled from a spinal cord condition in 2012.
She now uses a wheelchair or a walker to get around, and is living with her husband in supportive housing through the city’s shelter system until she can find an accessible apartment she can afford.
She’s hoping she finds something through the housing lottery, but she has already been in the shelter system for five years.
Persons:
Méndez, ”, “, ” Sabrina Bennett
Organizations:
Yorkers