As New Yorkers who are brought to tears each time we have to hand over our rent payment to our landlord, we’ve basically made it our life’s vocation to apply to as many affordable housing lotteries as we can–like this East Village one with a rooftop terrace, gym, and rec room.
A world where our landlord pays US to live somewhere is something we’ve thought only existed in a dreamland, but apparently that dreamworld is real–and it exists right here in NYC.
Residents of the Brooklyn Crossing, an apartment building in Prospect Heights, are actually being paid to party, so if you were looking for an excuse to have more dinner parties–or are simply dying to have one but can’t afford to feed a group of people when you’re just barely getting by on dollar slices–maybe a change of apartments is all you need!
The whole pay you to party situation is the building’s way of building community amongst residents. Landlords are finding that while amenities are one way to attract tenants, having community amongst those tenants is what actually sells. And it doesn’t have to be a huge rager; any sort of get-together is encouraged, from curated social programming to co-hosted events.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, Americans are moving at the lowest rate since the government first started keeping track. This means that rather than looking for a place to stay temporarily we’re more interested in a place where we can put down roots. Tack on to this the fact that many of us are working either fully remote or hybrid schedules post-pandemic and it’s clear that our apartments aren’t just a place where we sleep.
Thus, having camaraderie with those that live around us is important–and developers have noticed.
Even more, a 2024 study conducted in Oslo, Norway found that “socializing with friends and neighbors locally are all associated with intentions to live longer in a neighborhood,” so, property managers are realizing that a strong sense of community amongst tenants can not only keep them from leaving, but be more profitable.
As for Brooklyn Crossing specifically, they use the Brodsky Organization’s “Neighborly Events” program. Through the program, tenants who host an event in their building, whether it be a wine tasting, game night, or a sports game viewing party, can receive Visa gift cards to partially reimburse the cost of the gathering so long as they do the following:
- Submit the reimbursement amount, including the breakdown, no later than two weeks after the event (with photos of the receipt)
- Post about the activity on the building’s internal message board at least two weeks before
- Take and post at least 5 quality photos from the event
While this all does sound like a dream scenario (unless, of course, you’re an introvert) you do still have to decide if what you’re getting paid to party makes up for what you’re paying in rent to live in the building in the first place.
Brooklyn Crossing is a luxury building, so while it does come with an attractive set of amenities–a Sky Lounge with a panoramic vista of the rooftop pool, cabana, and the city below being just one of them–as we know that also means it’s likely paired with a hefty price tag.
As shown on Brooklyn Crossing’s website, units in the building start at $3,900 a month for a studio, while you’d have to hand over $4,025 minimum for a one-bedroom. According to Realtor.com’s latest Rental Report, the one-bedroom units here are listed at $1,048 above NYC’s median rent.
Brooklyn Crossing, however, isn’t alone in turning towards offering this sort of incentive to residents. If curated connection is something you’re after, Realtor.com suggests you “start by looking for buildings that promote resident events or list ‘community programming’ among their features.” They note though that these offerings may not always be front and center in a rental listing, so you may have to do some digging on the property’s website or ask the leasing office directly.