Gowanus Canal affordable apartments draw more than 56,000 applicants, report says

Leave aside all the jokes about living next to a foul waterway most likely to spawn three-eyed fish.

Living along the Gowanus Canal is definitely a thing: More than 56,000 people have applied in a city-run online lottery for 86 affordable apartments in a building hugging the waterway, according to reports and a spokesman for the developer.

How good is this deal? Well, a studio will could go for $833 a month, a one-bedroom for $895. Income guidelines require couples earn between $32,092 and $41,460 a year.

The developer’s spokesman said the response was “more than anyone would ever expect.”

“I would say that it clearly demonstrates the tremendous demand and interest in those looking to live in Gowanus,” said Scott Avram of Lightstone Group, which is developing 365 Bond St., where the 86 affordable units will be made available when the building opens in winter 2016.

He said the units may even be undervalued for the neighborhood. “If anything, we should charge more for living on the Gowanus,” he said. He said it is surrounded by some of the best neighborhoods in the borough. “People have a stigma when it comes to the canal,” he continued. “There’s been extraordinary strides in the last few years.”

Moreover, 365 Bond St. and its sister building, 363 Bond St., also developed by Lightstone Group, are unique properties with an esplanade and a public park, he said. 365 Bond St. has 430 market-rate apartments.

The lottery, overseen by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), ran from early November until Jan. 4.

People who applied will be selected randomly, interviewed and then vetted for the affordable apartments, the HPD told DNAInfo.com.