How Are People With Disabilities Doing in the New York City Housing Market?

Introduction

The quality of housing is getting worse, but this housing costs more. This is the harsh reality for people with disabilities in the New York City housing market. Other groups of city residents are experiencing the same problems. But for disabled people the situation is worst. Because the economic opportunities of disabled people are less than those of non-disabled people. But this is the visible cause of the problems. There are also hidden reasons. Politicians and opinion leaders commented on the situation.

Main Item

Three Problems

Housing conditions for people with disabilities in New York State are deteriorating.

The most common problem is lack of money. In 2021, 43.2% of people with disabilities living in the Community Experiencing Housing Cost Burden.(1) In 2019, the same figure was 42%.(2) This is worse than the national data which were 34.7% and 33.9%. But the situation for people with disabilities in New York State is not only worse than in the United States as a whole. In New York State, disabled people fare worse than non-disabled people. In 2021, only 29.9% of non-disabled people are living in the Community Experiencing Housing Cost Burden. In 2019, this figure was 27.2%.

The second problem is the quality of housing.

In 2021, 22.7% of New Yorkers with disabilities are living in the Community in Poor Housing. In 2019, this figure was 22%. In the United States overall, people with disabilities fared better. In 2021, 15.8% of people with disabilities are living in the Community in Poor Housing. Two years earlier this figure was 14.9%. For non-disabled people in New York State, the rates were 13.7% and 11.9%.

Third problem. Improvements are happening too slowly!

A very small proportion of disabled people live in new housing. In 2021, in New York State, 16.7% of people with disabilities are living in the Community in Housing Built in 1990 or Later. Incredible. But in the United States as a whole, almost a third of disabled people lived in new housing. This is almost 2 times more than in New York State! However, non-disabled New Yorkers were just as unlucky. Only 18.5% of these people are living in the Community in Housing Built in 1990 or Later. Generally in the USA this figure was 39.8%! Let's be fair. In 2019, the situation was worse for New York's disabled people. Then only 14.2% of people with disabilities living in the Community in Housing Built in 1990 or Later. For non-disabled people the figure was 16.1%.

Visible Cause of Problems

The apparent reason for this is the weak economic potential of people with disabilities in New York State. Disabled people make up 12% of the population but form 20.4% of all residents living below the poverty line.(3) Statewide, 29.1% of people with disabilities live below the poverty line. In the US as a whole, this value is 25.4%. For comparison, the share of non-disabled people living below the poverty line in New York State and the United States is 13% and 11.8%, respectively.(1)

Poverty is a consequence of lack of work. It is difficult for disabled people to find employment. Doing this in New York is more difficult than in the United States as a whole. In 2022, unemployment among people with disabilities in New York City was 11.9%. In the USA this value was 8.2%. In 2021, both indicators were 14.7% and 10.8%, respectively. In 2020, the unemployment rate among people with disabilities in New York City was 13.9%. In the USA this value was 13.4%. In 2019, both values were 8.8% and 8%.(4)

But even when disabled people work, their salary is less than the salary of non-disabled people. So in 2022, the average salary for non-disabled people in New York State was $61,510. The average salary for people with disabilities was $51,260. The difference in salaries was $10,250. The difference in salaries between non-disabled and disabled people nationwide was 20% less. The average salary for disabled and non-disabled people in the United States was $43,228 and $51,413.

The authorities are trying to improve the situation of disabled people in the housing market, including by helping disabled people in the labor market and in business. For example, New York authorities support self-employed people with disabilities(5) and provide tax benefits to people with disabilities who own real estate.(6) The authorities also distribute affordable apartments using a "randomized lottery system".(7) Other measures are also being taken that are popular among people with disabilities. For example, in 2010, the city had at least 4 accessible housing options for people with disabilities. About 100,000 people took advantage of these opportunities.(8)

Hidden Causes of Problems

And yet the situation is not good. This forces us to look for hidden reasons for what is happening. These reasons can be found in the actions of the authorities. Some actions of officials help disabled people. Other actions of officials hinder disabled people. Obviously the obstacles are stronger than the help. One of these possible obstacles to the path of people with disabilities to affordable housing is "increase population without proper housing". This is reported by Social activist and candidate for the New York City Council as a Republican and Conservative Party in 2023 for the 13th District George Havrenek.

He reports that officials are increasing the city's population because such policies help developers and politicians "make money." However, the rapid increase in the city's population contributes to rising prices and shortages of housing. This increases competition in the market. People with disabilities are less likely than other people to win this competition.

Another possible obstacle is the lack of perfection of assistance programs. These programs make people weaker, not stronger.

"I believe that some people absolutely need help with housing etc. However, any subsidy programs needs to be designed to get those utilizing them off of the eventually. Our current programs tend to create a generational dependency on said programs," - said Bronx County Conservative Party Chairman, Patrick McManus.

However, not only the authorities but also voters, including people with disabilities, may be to blame. Recently, New York authorities have been actively protecting the rights of immigrants and homeless people. But poor tenants who work are not in the first place for the authorities. Despite this, poor townspeople are not trying to regain the attention of the authorities. This is the typical behavior of the poor that "in these unfortunate times, this doesn't get things done." Co-Founder, Managing Partner i5 Enterprises llc, Mike Iverson talks about this. He said:

"The poor need to fight for their rights and making the case that city and state tax dollars being given away to others could make a much bigger difference to and for the poor, working, tax paying citizens of the city. There is only so much money to go around, they need to go get theirs".

As we see, the situation is not clear-cut. No one can just blame. No one should be just guilty. Most likely, the problem lies in ineffective communication between voters and politicians. This year's elections are the next opportunity to make this communication more effective.

References:

1) https://disabilitycompendium.org/sites/default/files/user-uploads/v1-Accessible_2023_Annual_Disability_Statistics_Compendium_ALL_Final.pdf

2) https://disabilitycompendium.org/compendium/2020-annual-disability-statistics-compendium?page=12

3) https://www.osc.ny.gov/reports/new-yorkers-need-look-poverty-trends-new-york-state-last-decade

4) https://www.osc.ny.gov/reports/employment-recovery-slow-new-yorkers-disabilities

5) https://centeronselfemployment.org/documents/state_resources/New_York_Self_Employment_Resources.pdf

6) https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/property/landlords-dhe.page

7) https://www.nyc.gov/assets/hpd/downloads/pdfs/services/affordable-housing-guide-for-applicants-with-disabilities.pdf

8) https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/redesign/docs/miller_nyail_barriers_to_aai_housing.pdf

Related Publications by Pavel Kuljuk:

• What's New for Americans with Disabilities in 2024?
• An Unusual Anti-Disability Drug Is Being Used in the US
• Politicians Too Busy With Politics to Care About People With Disabilities
• Disabled People Are the Achilles Heel of US Political Elites
• Equality Amendments Could Increase the Political Influence of the Disabled
• What Is the Price of Legislative Happiness for People With Disabilities in The USA?

Author Credentials:

Pavel Kuljuk's articles and poems are published in Australia, North America, and Europe. In recent years, he has been constantly collaborating with Australian Rural & Regional News (Australia), Red Hook Daily Catch and OpEd News (USA), and Disabled World (Canada). Kuliuk's individual publications are in Forbes (Kazakhstan), Rural 21 (Germany), London Loves Business (UK), Karrep (India), RealClearDefense (RCD), Change Links, Daily Caller (USA), and many others. Explore Pavels' complete biography for comprehensive insights into his background, expertise, and accomplishments.

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Cite This Page (APA): Pavel Kuljuk. (2024, March 26). How Are People With Disabilities Doing in the New York City Housing Market?. Disabled World. Retrieved October 6, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/disability/housing/ny-housing.php

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