The city will start accepting online lottery applications for subsidized apartments in East Harlem and Richmond Hill, Queens, on Tuesday – with an eye on expanding the process to all city housing developments by fall.

These below-market rate apartments are highly coveted in low income communities. The city says it receives 40 different applications for each apartment that is distributed through the lottery. Roughly 160,000 applications apply for lotteries annually.

"We're hoping by having this online we actually attract more people and have a better outreach for people to get on the system and have more people apply in general," said Deputy Commissioner for Housing Kaye Matheny.

Two to five housing lotteries are going on simultaneously at any given time. With the most recent upgrade, applicants can use one single application for multiple lotteries instead of sending in separate paper applications to each different developer of a project.

The city's affordable housing lottery system has not been altered since the 1980s.  

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn pledged to create the online system during her State of the City Address last year.   

"Your information will be saved, so you can apply for any housing lottery with the push of a button. We'll be able to update you when new buildings are available-and you can check the status of your application online,” Quinn said in the speech.