What it's like to be an NYC retiree paying $400 in rent
Sydney Krantz for BI Tico Flores Kyle squinted against the sun as we stepped onto the roof. There were a few garden troughs with ripening tomatoes, a gaggle of women swapping gossip, and an unobscured view of the New York City skyline. "This is where we watched the fireworks" on July 4th, he said. "We ate here, we had our little spread." The 67-year-old lives at Linden Grove, an affordable housing development for older adults in Bushwick, Brooklyn. He pays just $400 a month for rent and utilities, far below typical prices in the neighborhood , allowing the lifelong New Yorker to stay in the city. On a hot summer afternoon, Kyle gave me a tour of his apartment building, which opened in 2025. With 153 units, all Linden Grove residents are low-income — earning between 30% and 40% of the area median income, which is around $40,000 a year — and some are formerly homeless. Linden Grove offers affordable rent, community, and benefits support to New Yorkers age 62 and old...
