How is Economic Opportunity Threatened in Your Neighborhood? 2016

On November 16, 2016, ANHD releases an updated version of our What Does Your Neighborhood Economy Look Like? 2016 Equitable Economic Development Indicators risk chart, this year titled,

How is Economic Opportunity Threatened in Your Neighborhood?

This year’s chart features a citywide analysis broken down by neighborhood and grouped into the following categories: Access & Benefits, Housing, Work & School, and Infrastructure.

This chart asks:
How is economic opportunity threatened in your neighborhood?
What are the challenges and pathways to economic opportunity in your communities?
Who are our economic development policies not reaching? 
How can we better ensure economic opportunity for all New Yorkers?

Click here to view a full size version of the chart.

Economic development has historically overlooked the needs and capacity of low-income communities, communities of color, and immigrants while focusing on increased revenue. Equitable Economic Development implements targeted policies, programs, and strategies that create economic opportunity for those communities that have historically faced barriers in accessing jobs, building wealth, and achieving financial security and stability.

Community groups, residents, stakeholders, officials, and policy makers can use the information captured in this chart to see what challenges and opportunities their neighborhood economy faces. While each neighborhood economy is unique, the problems they experience are not exclusive to their communities. Community based organizations in different neighborhoods can build power by working with other groups across the city and call for changes and resources. Elected officials and policy makers can use this chart to track citywide trends, as well as pinpoint specific neighborhood needs in order to tailor solutions that create inclusive and equitable citywide economic development.

Key Findings

Internet Access
20% of NYC Households do not have internet access in their homes. Households in Bed Stuy, East Harlem, Jackson Heights, and Stapleton have disproportionately less access to the internet than the rest of the City. In an increasingly technologically dependent world, Internet access is necessary for people to both prepare for the workforce and apply to jobs.

Inadequate Emergency Savings
58% of all New Yorkers have inadequate savings to pay for expenses like food, housing, and rent in an emergency. Kingsbridge Heights, Bushwick, and South Ozone Park have among the highest percentage of residents without adequate savings. Without sufficient emergency savings that cover at least three months’ worth of household expenses, families are at risk of eviction, foreclosure, and damaged credit.

Local Jobs
64% of local jobs pay less than $40,000. Often, this means that residents need to leave their neighborhoods in order to find jobs that pay well. 77% of jobs in Coney Island and 74% of all jobs in Crown Heights pay less than $40,000 a year. Hunts Point has among the highest percentage of jobs paying more than $40,000, but an unemployment rate higher than the rest of the city, which means local jobs aren’t going to local residents.

Mean Travel Time to Work
It takes the average New Yorker 39.5 minutes to get to work. Residents of East Flatbush, Tottenville/Great Kills, and Jamaica/Hollis have among the longest commutes in the city. Long commute times often indicate less economic opportunity within a neighborhood.

Small Business Loans
An average of 5,700 small business loans was made across the city in 2015. The Bronx had by far the lowest number of loans, with an average of 1,095 loans, and the University Heights/Fordham area received just 659. Morningside Heights, Ozone Park/Woodhaven, and Brownsville also received among the lowest number of loans citywide. The number of small business loans in a neighborhood indicates where in the city economic investment is concentrated. Additionally, the lack of loans in pockets of the city can show where small business owners do not have adequate credit to access these resources.

Click here to view our Data Snapshot about Small Businesses.

Neighborhood Breakdowns

Your Neighborhood Economy Bronx 101                   Your Neighborhood Economy Bronx 102
Your Neighborhood Economy Bronx 103                   Your Neighborhood Economy Bronx 104
Your Neighborhood Economy Bronx 105                   Your Neighborhood Economy Bronx 106
Your Neighborhood Economy Bronx 107                   Your Neighborhood Economy Bronx 108
Your Neighborhood Economy Bronx 109                   Your Neighborhood Economy Bronx 110
Your Neighborhood Economy Bronx 111                    Your Neighborhood Economy Bronx 112

Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 201               Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 202
Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 203               Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 204
Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 205               Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 206
Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 207               Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 208
Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 209               Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 210
Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 211                Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 212
Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 213               Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 214
Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 215               Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 216
Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 217               Your Neighborhood Economy Brooklyn 218

Your Neighborhood Economy Manhattan 301             Your Neighborhood Economy Manhattan 302
Your Neighborhood Economy Manhattan 303             Your Neighborhood Economy Manhattan 304
Your Neighborhood Economy Manhattan 305             Your Neighborhood Economy Manhattan 306
Your Neighborhood Economy Manhattan 307             Your Neighborhood Economy Manhattan 308
Your Neighborhood Economy Manhattan 309             Your Neighborhood Economy Manhattan 310
Your Neighborhood Economy Manhattan 311              Your Neighborhood Economy Manhattan 312

Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 401                   Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 402
Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 403                   Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 404
Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 405                   Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 406
Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 407                   Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 408
Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 409                   Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 410
Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 411                    Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 412
Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 413                   Your Neighborhood Economy Queens 414

Your Neighborhood Economy Staten Island 501          Your Neighborhood Economy Staten Island 502
Your Neighborhood Economy Staten Island 503

For questions, press inquiries, or interviews, please contact Lena Afridi, Equitable Economic Development Policy Coordinator.

Join the conversation online using the hashtag #EqEDRisks16 and follow @ANHDNYC on Twitter.