1. What’s The Big Idea? Meeting housing needs for the Westchester of today and tomorrow
Allied Community Enterprises
June 16, 2017
Moses Gates
Director of Community Planning and Design

2. Housing market is regional, regulation is local
8.1 million households in 782 cities, towns and villages
One-third of households in NYC
Half owners, half renters
So let’s start with the scale of the region that we need to provide housing for.
Range of communities, from the most dense urban neighborhoods in the U.S. to rural areas in the Catskills and NJ highlands.
More owners than renters
783 municipalities
Source: 2014 ACS 1-Year Estimates

3. Cost of housing is increasing across all geographies and incomes..
Paying for housing now takes up more of our household budgets than it did 20 years ago.
In Southwestern CT, only 25% of households used to spend more than a third of their income on housing. Today, over a third of them do.
In The City That Never Sleeps, over 40% of households now spend over a third of their income finding a place to sleep at night.
This represents a “Housing Tax” on the entire region that leaves us with less to spend on everything else.
*Household Paying 30% or more on housing

4. …with an affordability crisis for low-income households
Paying for housing now takes up more of our household budgets than it did 20 years ago.
In Southwestern CT, only 25% of households used to spend more than a third of their income on housing. Today, over a third of them do.
In The City That Never Sleeps, over 40% of households now spend over a third of their income finding a place to sleep at night.
This represents a “Housing Tax” on the entire region that leaves us with less to spend on everything else.
Household Income Cohort

5. Type of housing stock mismatched with future need
Certainly one of the factors that can help to counteract this trend is better education that prepares people for the kinds of better paying jobs that are available in Many factors go into determining education outcomes, but certainly one of those is where you live.
This is a screenshot of one of the very good interactive pages on the website of the Fourth Regional Plan. It shows how school performance is correlated to the income in various neighborhoods, as well as the presence or absence of racial integration. Sea Cliff elementary school in Long Island ranks at the top 10% in the region, and is located in a community with a median household income of over $100,000, where the vast majority of the population is white. Roseville Avenue school is located in Newark, specifically in a neighborhood where the median household income is $25,000 and the vast majority of the population is hispanic and black.

6. Westchester could add 100-200,000 people over the next 25 years

7. Westchester is Aging

8. Westchester Is Becoming More Diverse
Share of Population by Race, Westchester County

9. Housing construction has declined more than the demand for new homes
Certainly one of the factors that can help to counteract this trend is better education that prepares people for the kinds of better paying jobs that are available in Many factors go into determining education outcomes, but certainly one of those is where you live.
This is a screenshot of one of the very good interactive pages on the website of the Fourth Regional Plan. It shows how school performance is correlated to the income in various neighborhoods, as well as the presence or absence of racial integration. Sea Cliff elementary school in Long Island ranks at the top 10% in the region, and is located in a community with a median household income of over $100,000, where the vast majority of the population is white. Roseville Avenue school is located in Newark, specifically in a neighborhood where the median household income is $25,000 and the vast majority of the population is hispanic and black.
Pulled from this table, tab “summary chart” V:\Projects\1690_4RP\Working groups\Housing\Research\Housing Age\Progress\age2013.xlsx
Source: U.S. Census

10. Displacement Findings: Rich & Poor are Switching Places Findings:
Rich and Poor are Switching Places
Findings:
Rich & Poor are Switching Places

11. Displacement Findings: Rich & Poor are Switching Places Findings:
Rich and Poor are Switching Places
Findings:
Rich & Poor are Switching Places

12. State of Multifamily Development
Negative correlation of between mf friendliness and commute times to the core.

13. State of Multifamily Development

14. State of Multifamily Development

15. Housing construction has declined more than the demand for new homes

16. The Value of Walkability
An 18% increase from “Walkable” defined as top two categories (Very walkable and Walker’s Paradise)
SARAH,
INSERT CHART SHOWING INCREASE IN POPULATION LIVING IN WALKABLE COMMUNITIES

17. Location of affordable housing limits economic opportunity and reinforces disparities.
Paying for housing now takes up more of our household budgets than it did 20 years ago.
In Southwestern CT, only 25% of households used to spend more than a third of their income on housing. Today, over a third of them do.
In The City That Never Sleeps, over 40% of households now spend over a third of their income finding a place to sleep at night.
This represents a “Housing Tax” on the entire region that leaves us with less to spend on everything else.

18. State of Multifamily Affordability

19. State of Multifamily Affordability

20. Big Ideas for Westchester?
Affordability
Walkability
Livability
What Else?