This helpful resource examines family homelessness by New York City Community District, analyzing key elements such as shelter entry data and the extent of student homelessness. Each snapshot also details the stability indicators of each community, from the affordability of rental units to unemployment rates.…
This community profile takes an in-depth look at “affordable housing” in the Concourse/Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx—one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York City. A large percentage of new affordable housing units are financially out of reach for low-income residents in the neighborhood. Could new plans for development and affordable housing in the Jerome Avenue Corridor of the South Bronx destabilize this already vulnerable community?…
Return to shelter is a critical factor contributing to the growth of family homelessness in New York City. Among families living in shelter at any point during the last half of 2014, 84% had entered shelter for the first time prior to 2014. This trend is reflective of the focus on moving families out of the shelter system as quickly as possible, with limited attention directed towards addressing the underlying reason that each family entered shelter in the first place. In order to further the conversation about the dynamics that drive family homelessness in New York City’s communities, this report provides a geographic analysis of demographic patterns and newly-available data on family homelessness.…
This report reveals that low-income families in the Elmhurst/Corona section of Queens, New York, are at risk of growing housing instability in the face of gentrification, rising rents, and a rapidly vanishing affordable housing stock. Community development and gentrification often push lower income residents out of desired and affordable neighborhoods. Understanding that a potential crisis is on the doorstep, this community has a unique opportunity to manage and hopefully reduce the instability that ultimately drives many families into homelessness.…
As New York City becomes increasingly unaffordable and affordable housing becomes scarcer, working class communities are showing signs of vulnerability: growth in poverty, a decline in educational attainment, and overcrowding in rental units. This community profile examines the growing instability in one such community—Sunset Park, Brooklyn—which was the most overcrowded neighborhood and fourth most rent-burdened community in New York City in 2012, yet has seen few families turning to the shelter system.…
Need for shelter in community districts in the South Bronx and central Brooklyn dominate the list of the highest-contributing areas, while comparatively few families in shelter come from Manhattan.…
In 2011, over one-third (35%) of New York City residents had difficulty affording essential food. … Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit allowance does not take into account the higher cost of food in New York City compared to other urban areas.…
This issue of UNCENSORED spotlights homeless LGBT youth, the not-so-uncommon phenomenon of “couch surfing,” and housing assistance for survivors of domestic violence. …