This NYC apartment building is paying its residents to party together

It’s 2025, and we’re still trying to make third spaces happen. Or, at least, Brooklyn Crossing is. The luxury apartment building in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, NY is now offering tenants an allowance to host more get-togethers as an incentive to build community inside its walls.

Brooklyn Crossing already comes stacked with amenities: a rooftop pool, a 5,200-square-foot gym, and even a vending machine where you can rent a Dyson vacuum—all starting at $4,025 a month for a one-bedroom. That rate is a paltry $1,048 above New York City’s median rent, per the latest Rental Report from Realtor.com®.

And while perks like pools and Pelotons were once the crown jewels of amenity packages, more buildings are now betting that “community” is what sells. From co-hosted events to curated social programming, landlords are marketing connection as a building’s biggest value-add—suggesting that what tenants really want, in addition to central air and skyline views, is a sense of belonging.

Brooklyn Crossing isn’t alone in this shift. The building’s push to foster curated connection reflects a growing trend across the rental market: Social amenities are becoming just as important as the physical ones.

The rise of social amenities

Americans are moving less than they ever have before, putting more pressure on the moves they actually do make. Instead of treating apartments as temporary landing pads, renters are increasingly seeking spaces where they can put down roots—and developers are taking notice.

But this isn’t just about upping the amenity ante. It’s a response to deeper shifts in how—and where—people build community. In a post-pandemic world of hybrid work and rising loneliness, apartments aren’t just where we sleep. They’re where we work, socialize, and build lives. And in cities where homeownership is out of reach for many, renters are craving permanence and belonging in spaces they don’t technically own.

Social amenities promise a kind of shortcut to that elusive feeling of home. The idea is: If the building provides the infrastructure—event budgets, shared spaces, even a resident experience coordinator—then residents won’t have to do the hard work of community-building from scratch.

There’s data to back this up. Socialization with local friends and neighbors is one of the biggest drivers of people staying put in their chosen neighborhood, according to a 2024 study which examined residential mobility in Oslo, Norway. Even in the U.S., where residential turnover is common, property managers have found that tenant-hosted events can improve retention and reduce churn.

For developers, the math is simple: Connection isn’t just nice to have—it’s profitable.

Community in action: a closer look at Brooklyn Crossing

But what does this social engineering look like in practice?

Brooklyn Crossing’s version of curated community comes via the Brodsky Organization’s “Neighborly Events” program. Tenants can receive Visa gift cards to partially reimburse the cost of social gatherings—as long as they’re willing to provide receipts, upload a few photos, and post about it on the building’s internal message board, Curbed reports. The aim is to make it easier—and maybe a little more affordable—for residents to mingle with the people they share walls and elevators with.

Across Brodsky’s portfolio of high-end rentals, events range from regular Saturday yoga at City Tower to Tiny Tunes music class for children at West End Towers to one-off seasonal outings. 

Some events are hosted by the property itself; others are organized by tenants with the help of the events stipend, which has covered up to $500 for a single gathering. It’s socializing, but with receipts—and a reminder that even in the friendliest version of luxury living, connection is still something of a transaction.

This strategy reflects a larger truth about modern renting: People crave connection, but often don’t have the time, energy, or infrastructure to create it on their own. And for buildings vying to stand out in a market flooded with similar amenities, offering a plug-and-play social life complete with budgeting support might just be the edge that seals the lease.

How to find apartments with social amenities

If curated connection is the amenity you’re after, start by looking for buildings that promote resident events or list “community programming” among their features, like 1515 Surf in Brooklyn, NY. These offerings may not always be front and center in a rental listing, so dig into the property’s website or ask the leasing office directly: Do you host regular events? Is there a tenant budget for gatherings? Are there shared spaces built for actual use—not just glossy photos?

Terms like “resident experience manager,” “neighbor events,” or even “co-living inspired” can hint at efforts to build community beyond the boilerplate amenity list. And don’t underestimate the power of old-fashioned observation—if the building has a calendar of events in the lobby or a bulletin board filled with recent photos, like 333 Schermerhorn does, chances are they’re not just paying lip service to social connection.

Of course, no amount of free rosé or reimbursed pizza parties can guarantee real friendship. But for renters hoping their next apartment might also come with a little more belonging, buildings like 360 Wythe are offering a pitch that goes beyond square footage: Stay here, and you might find your people.

Allaire Conte is a senior advice writer covering real estate and personal finance trends. She previously served as deputy editor of home services at CNN Underscored Money and was a lead writer at Orchard, where she simplified complex real estate topics for everyday readers. She holds an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from Columbia University and a BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College. When she’s not writing about homeownership hurdles and housing market shifts, she’s biking around Brooklyn or baking cakes for her friends.