Lack of affordable housing bad for your health, study says

The New York Academy of Medicine found that a variety of health problems can be linked to a lack of affordable housing.

On the heels of continuing battles over the placement of homeless shelters in the city, a new report says that the health of city residents, especially in low-income and urban areas, can be harmed by the rapid disappearance of affordable housing, as well as the prevalence of substandard housing.

In its recent report focusing on East Harlem, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city, The New York Academy of Medicine said that when a “community loses affordable housing—especially in a dense, expensive urban area—residents experience displacement, increased homelessness and other stresses that lead to poor health outcomes.”

Some of those poor health issues include high rates of hypertension, diabetes, asthma, infant mortality, drug addiction and mental health issues.

NYAM’s report also noted that East Harlem has lost nearly 2,000 units of affordable housing since 2011 and is estimated to lose more than 6,000 over the next 10 years.

In addition, the academy noted that East Harlem is losing about 280 rent-controlled or rent-stabilized units per year while more than half of the neighborhood's population has varying levels of difficulty—from moderate to severe—paying current rents.

As such, the report also supports a key part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Affordable Housing Plan by identifying the plan’s mandatory inclusionary housing requirement as central to maintaining a stable, health-supporting environment in urban communities.

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