Data Shows Higher COVID Rates In NYCHA Than Rest Of Crown Heights

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — New York City Housing tenants in Crown Heights were more likely to get coronavirus throughout the pandemic than the rest of the neighborhood, new data reveals.

Recently-released totals for the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in NYCHA developments across the city show that about 12 percent of public housing tenants in Crown Heights came down with the virus between March 2020 and June of this year.

That rate is higher than the coronavirus case rate for any of Crown Heights' ZIP codes, though it is equal to the 12 percent case rate for the borough of Brooklyn as a whole, according to city data.

In total, at least 834 of the neighborhood's 7,016 NYCHA tenants included in the data have caught COVID-19 during that time span, the data shows.

The Crown Heights numbers, and those for all five boroughs, come after the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene resisted calls parse out coronavirus data specific to the city's public housing developments.

The overall totals, first reported by POLITICO, reveal that NYCHA residents caught and died from COVID at a higher rate than the rest of the population. NYCHA residents represent about 5 percent of the city's total COVID-19 cases and 7 percent of the city's total deaths, despite the fact that tenants make up only 4 percent of the city's population, POLITICO reported.

In Crown Heights, more than 30 NYCHA tenants died from the coronavirus, according to the data. Deaths were not included in the data for complexes where less than five people died.

The highest case rate in the neighborhood was found at the Crown Heights Houses, where nearly 17 percent of residents came down with the virus, according to the data.

As far as total cases, the Albany Houses I had the largest number, with 242 cases through June. There are 1,853 total tenants at the complex, according to the data.

It should be noted that the city data does not include totals for some of Crown Heights' NYCHA complexes, including the Weeksville Gardens Houses.

POLITICO noted that the case totals might be even higher given that the city's percentages are based on the number of "authorized NYCHA residents," or about 360,000 citywide. A federal monitor for NYCHA estimates that there may be as many as 600,000 people living in the public housing developments.

Here's a look at the total numbers for each of the Crown Heights complexes included in the data:

• Albany Houses I:
  • 242 cases, 9 deaths, 1,853 total tenants
• Albany Houses II:
  • 121 cases, 5 deaths, 931 total tenants
• Crown Heights Houses:
  • 41 cases, <5 deaths, 243 total tenants
• Howard Avenue:
  • 45 cases, <5 deaths, 357 total tenants
• Kingsborough Houses:
  • 240 cases, 11 deaths, 2,447 total tenants
• Kingsborough Houses Extension:
  • 18 cases, 5 deaths, 202 total tenants
• Park Rock Rehab:
  • 38 cases, <5 deaths, 310 total tenants
• Sterling Place Rehab:
  • 30 cases, 0 deaths, 263 total tenants
• Howard Avenue-Park Place:
  • 59 cases, <5 deaths, 410 total tenants