East Harlem Affordable Housing, Neighborhood Character 'Under Threat': Report

EAST HARLEM, NY — A report released earlier in August has a depressing prediction for East Harlem. The report, titled "Preserving Affordable Housing in East Harlem," claims that the neighborhood may lose as much as 25 percent of its affordable current housing options by the year 2040.

Of East Harlem's current 56,000 affordable residential units, 14,000 are in jeopardy, the report states. The report speculates that if housing affordability programs such as rent stabilization are not extended, East Harlem could lose between 200 to 500 affordable housing units per year.

The report was conducted by the Regional Plan Association, which describes itself as an urban research and advocacy organization on its website. Community Board 11, which spans East Harlem and Randall's Island, also collaborated with the RPA for the report.

"Despite two consecutive mayors who put the creation and preservation of affordable housing atop their agendas, neighborhoods throughout New York City and the metropolitan region are experiencing a crisis of affordability. East Harlem in particular, a neighborhood characterized by diversity and opportunity throughout its history, is under threat," reads the report.

The report claims that while the city's proposal to rezone East Harlem will create some affordable housing units, current affordable housing units are in greater jeopardy due to gentrification, drawing the conclusion that preserving existing units is equally or more important than adding new units. Production of affordable housing units is just one thing the city can do to help keep East Harlem affordable, the report says.

Other solutions suggested by the report include:

• More effective rent regulation
• Modification of existing programs to require permanent affordability
• Use of land lease agreements on publicly owned land
• Creation of sustainable community land trusts
• Production of more affordable housing

The report listed gentrification as East Harlem's primary demographic trend from 2000 to 2014. Gentrification, an influx of people with higher incomes into a neighborhood, is often responsible for "increases in residential and commercial rents, property values and cost-of-living, and associated with declines in the Latino and African American populations."

From 2000 to 2013, the median household income has risen by nearly $8,000 in East Harlem compared to just more than $1,000 for New York City as a whole. During the same time frame, the ethnic makeup of the neighborhood has also shifted. The percentage of white residents in East Harlem has increased from 7 percent to 14 percent, the percentage of Hispanic has residents decreased from 52 percent to 46 percent, and the percentage black residents has decreased from 36 percent to 31 percent.

Community Board 11 did not returned a request for comment on the report's findings.

[Photo: Courtesy of The All-Nite Images via flickr]