According to ANHD chart, Brooklyn CB 3 faces far more displacement risks than three other CBs in Atlantic Yards preference area

In May, Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD) and New York City Councilmember Jumaane Williams, the Chair of the Housing Committee, jointly released the latest edition of ANHD’s annual data graphic, 2017 How is Affordable Housing Threatened in Your Neighborhood?

I've truncated it and annotated it below to focus on the four Community Districts where, at least for now, community preferences gives residents a boost in the affordable housing lottery, given that 50% of the below-market units are set aside for those residents.

If you click to enlarge and look at the far right column, you'll see that, of the four districts, only Brooklyn Community Board 3, Bedford-Stuyvesant, has its risks totaled in red, which indicates the most risks, with a total score of 21.

Community Board 8, which is the northern half of Crown Heights plus Prospect Heights, is in pink, with a total score of 12. By contrast, CB 2 (Brooklyn Heights/Fort Greene) and CB 6 (Park Slope/Carroll Gardens/Gowanus/Red Hook) have low scores, 3 and 2 respectively, indicating much lower risks.

That suggests that the belated inclusion of CB 3 in the preference area may have had a significant impact.

Looking more closely

From ANHD:

One important trend in this year’s chart is the significant increase across many neighborhoods of Percent with Severe Overcrowding. An increase in overcrowding captures families that are doubling- and tripling-up in order to afford their rent and is often a precursor to an increase in shelter applications.

That's the fifth column from the left and seemingly less of an issue in the four community districts. However, ANHD suggests it may be more complicated when it comes to CB 8:

The numbers may tell more than one story. For example, the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn had 2.4 % of families severely overcrowded, a 36.8% decrease over/from the previous year. This could indicate that overcrowding in that neighborhood is decreasing for every demographic, or it could mean that the influx of newer, wealthier residents is decreasing overall overcrowding.

The biggest indicators for CB 3 included a high unemployment rate, a large number of housing code violations, an increased number of tax delinquencies, and a high foreclosure rate--all the while coupled with an astonishing 57% increase in the price per square foot in residential sales from 2014-2016.

That suggests a neighborhood that includes both persistent poverty and blocks with ever-coveted brownstones and condos.

A larger version of the annotated chart



Here's City Limits' coverage of the report.

Addressing the displacement debate

ANHD in May also reported, CASA’s New White Paper Gets to the Heart of The Displacement Debate, noting that Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA) new white paper, “Resisting Displacement in the Southwest Bronx,” outlining current problems, the risks of a rezoning, and potential solutions.

Notes ANHD:

This is why CASA is calling for new solutions to fight displacement before any rezoning moves forward. The proposals include creating an affordable housing subsidy program that truly matches the neighborhood’s need and a package of strong tenant protection measures such as Right to Counsel and a city-wide Certificate of No Harassment (CONH) program.