In a new report released by the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, researchers culled data from multiple sources in order to find how many threats to affordable housing exist in many of New York City’s neighborhoods. Bushwick is threatened by 15 factors known to be indicators for growing concern that demand does not match the needs of long time neighborhood residents.
Out of all the neighborhoods profiled in Brooklyn, Bushwick had the highest unemployment rate at nearly ten percent (2014 numbers). Simultaneously, the neighborhood had to contend with a 103% increase in median sale price of homes between 2010 and 2015.
Bushwick also had a significant number of serious housing violations in 2015 (per 1000 units), suggesting something most have surmised long before: unregulated housing caters to landlords who are intent on something other than providing safe shelter for their tenants.
Bushwick is home to a comparatively small number of rent stabilized apartments (9,020 compared to 16,465 in Williamsburg/Greenpoint), partially because the rules governing rent stabilization apply to buildings with 6 or more units. Most of Bushwick’s apartment buildings contain fewer than six units, many in the form of railroad style apartments, or full floors in three flats: This type of housing can result in fewer tenant complaints because landlords of smaller buildings may have closer relationships with their tenants—and tenants in smaller buildings are sometimes less aware of their housing rights, ANHD tells DNAinfo.
Take a look at the full report below.
ANHD Housing Chart Final 5-24-16 by DNAinfoNewYork
Photo via Flickr user Chris Ford