Study Details Racial Inequality In Northern Manhattan

NORTHERN MANHATTAN, NY — Black and Latino residents of Northern Manhattan face greater obstacles toward upward mobility than their white neighbors and other people of color throughout New York City, according to a study released Wednesday by the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York.

The advocacy group's study — "Celebrating Strengths, Addressing Needs: Community Driven Solutions to Improve Well-Being in Northern Manhattan" — claims that Northern Manhattan's recent progress in quality of life measures such as average household incomes and teen birth rates has not been shared equally among the area's residents.

The study was released Wednesday following a one-year study of child and family needs in Washington Heights, Central Harlem and West Harlem in which the Citizens’ Committee for Children analyzed government data and collected its own data through focus groups and interviews with services providers, parents and youth.

"Northern Manhattan reflects the diversity and cultural richness of New York City as a whole, while also reflecting the core challenges that impede mobility and well-being," Jennifer March, executive director of CCC, said in a statement.

“Through participatory research, we’ve engaged community members in identifying the key challenges they face – unstable and unaffordable housing; employment opportunities with limited wage growth; underperforming schools with limited resources; lack of information and limited access to convenient, affordable supports, among others."

The study determined that black and Latino residents of Northern Manhattan are facing greater economic challenges than in other areas of New York City:

• The income gap between people of color and white residents of Northern Manhattan is greater than the citywide income gap. Average median income for black residents in Northern Manhattan is between $34,000 and $39,000 compared to $44,000 citywide. The average median income for Latino residents is also less than citywide;
• More than 40 percent of Latinos in Northern Manhattan lack a high school diploma compared to around 33 percent citywide;
• The poverty rate for black residents of Northern Manhattan is 30 percent, compared to 21 percent citywide. The poverty rate for white residents of Northern Manhattan is only 12 percent.

In addition to lower incomes, black and Latino families in Northern Manhattan are affected by overcrowded homes, a high rate of 16- to 24-year-olds that are both out of school and unemployed and high rates of health problems.

"The data demonstrates how, despite economic progress overall, there remain areas of high poverty, and the cost of living is increasing," Apurva Mehrotra, CCC’s director of research and data analysis, said in a statement. "This presents clear challenges for residents that impact their health and well-being."

Through focus groups with community members CCC was able to identify solutions to improve economic outcomes for residents of Northern Manhattan.

The group's recommendations include:

• Greater access to resources such as financial literacy education, entrepreneurship resources and on-site childcare for adults enrolled in educational, literacy and English language programs;
• Greater protections to housing stability such as city programs to create and preserve affordable housing as well as free legal counsel for people facing eviction or harassment;
• Greater equity in the distribution of resources to area schools and greater opportunity for children to take advantage of low-cost programs for schoolwork and support for families with limited English language skills.
• Eliminating barriers that prevent families from accessing needed services.

"Our community based work in northern Manhattan not only informed what data we collected and analyzed, but also created a space for community members to validate shared concerns, learn from one another about resources in the community, and identify opportunities to address the needs of their community," Bijan Kimiagar, CCC’s Senior Associate for Community-based Research and Data Analysis, said in a statement.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images News/Getty Images