A Ronkonkoma man won an affordable housing lottery in Smithtown Tuesday out of 37 applicants who qualified to participate.
Neil Coleman, a 25-year-old electrician, said that he “couldn’t be more excited.”
“It's everything I could ask for right now, and more,” he said. “It's difficult to find affordable housing at a young age.”
He now has the chance to buy a brand-new home in San Remo – a hamlet in Kings Park – for less than the market price.
Town Supervisor Ed Werheim says lotteries can help younger Long Islanders, like Coleman, stay in the area.
More affordable housing in Smithtown will soon be available. Werheim says seven of the 69 condo units being built on routes 111 and 347 will also be up for grabs in a housing lottery that has yet to be determined.