In response to the State of the City Address

Released February 3, 2015

“Affordable housing, living wage jobs, and a strong community infrastructure are crucial to the well-being of children. As child advocates we support the key initiatives outlined in today’s State of the City, and we look forward to a preliminary budget that deepens the City’s commitment to programs and services that help children and families thrive – infant and toddler child care, after-school services, breakfast in the classroom and universal lunch programs, school based health and mental health services, as well as expanded supports at the community level for prenatal care and homevisiting,” said Jennifer March, Executive Director of Citizens’ Committee for Children (CCC).

Yesterday, CCC released a new Community Risk Ranking that shows a stark disparity in child well-being across New York City. Taking into account data on economic security, health, housing, education, and youth and family issues, the report ranks the city’s 59 community districts from lowest to highest concentration of risk to child well-being, and shows radically different realities among children living sometimes just blocks apart.

The report contained several key findings that showed how NYC’s affordable housing crisis impacts children:

•  In the highest-risk community of University Heights, where the majority of children are Latino, 43.4% of households spend more than 50% of their income on rent, and 18.2% of rental units are “overcrowded.”
• The five highest-risk communities in terms of housing are all in the Bronx: Hunts Point, Morrisania, Concourse/Highbridge, East Tremont, and University Heights.
• Risks are interrelated: children in University Heights are also at high risk in every other indicator of well-being.