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Report shows a segregated New York

May 08, 2023 12:59 am

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that Gov. Kathy Hochul's office released a report on May 5 showing how African-Americans, women, and the disabled have it worse in New York's housing market. The Fair Housing Matters NY report found that a third of New Yorkers are living in segregated counties, and 95 percent of Black and African-American residents in the state are living in a county that is highly segregated from white households. Only a third of Black and African-American households own their own home, and only 25 percent of Hispanic and Latino households do, while, overall, two-thirds of New York households own their own homes. The report also found that women and children were more likely to have higher rates of poverty, and households with a disabled member are more likely to be classified as low income. Hochul said, "The findings in this report show that confronting these inequalities will require an aggressive multi-faceted approach. I look forward to working with our partners at the federal, state, and local levels to take the bold actions necessary to foster more diverse communities and create and preserve affordable housing for more New Yorkers." Hochul's housing plan of building 800,000 new units, was shot down in the state budget by Democrats in the legislature. Hochul and many officials in the Hudson Valley have identified an affordable housing crisis in the state. Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.