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CoreData.nyc

User Guide

Data Dictionary

420-c Tax Exemption (properties/units)

Total number of properties/units in properties (including both affordable and market-rate units) using a 420-c tax exemption.
Sources: NYU Furman Center’s CoreData.nyc, New York City Department of Finance, New York City MapPLUTO

421-a Tax Exemption (properties)

Total number of properties using a 421-a tax exemption (includes properties with only market rate units).
Sources: NYU Furman Center’s CoreData.nyc, New York City Department of Finance, New York City MapPLUTO

421-a Tax Exemption (units)

Total number of units in properties using a 421-a tax exemption (includes both affordable and market rate units).
Sources: NYU Furman Center’s CoreData.nyc, New York City Department of Finance, New York City MapPLUTO

Address

The address of any building within the given property.

Agency

The agency that authorized/issued the subsidy and is party to the regulatory agreement.

Born in New York State

The percentage of city residents who were born in New York State.
Sources: United States Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Borough

New York City consists of five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is represented by a borough president, an elected official who advises the mayor on issues related to his or her borough and, along with the borough board, makes recommendations concerning land use and the allocation of public services. Each borough is also a county. Counties are legal entities with boundaries defined by state law.

Borough-Block-Lot

A unique parcel identifier for a property lot in New York City. It consists of three numbers: the borough, which is one digit (coded alphabetically 1-5); the block number, which is up to five digits; and the lot number, which is up to four digits. 

Building Count

The number of buildings included in the property.

Car-Free Commute (% of commuters)

This indicator measures the percentage of workers who commute primarily by foot, bicycle, or public transportation, as a share of all workers over the age of 16 who do not work at home. The types of transportation included as public transportation are bus, subway, railroad, and ferry boat. To be consistent with the way commute transportation modes are tabulated in the American Community Survey (ACS), public transit rates from the 2000 Census exclude those commuting by taxi. For this indicator, “Car” refers to personal motor vehicles, including motorcycles. Respondents were asked to report the “principal” means of getting from home to work, defined as the means used most often and for the longest distance among any other means used.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Census Tract

Census tracts are small, statistical subdivisions of a county delineated by U.S. Census Bureau guidelines.

City and State Programs

Descriptions of the New York City and New York State affordable housing programs included in CoreData.nyc, and notes on methodology by program can be found in the Directory of NYC Housing Programs.  

City Council District

The City Council District where the property is located. The law-making body of New York City is comprised of 51 separate City Council districts throughout the five boroughs.
Note: City Council Districts can be added to maps as a visual boundary, but no indicators are aggregated at this geographic level.

Community District

Community districts are political units unique to New York City. Each of the 59 community districts has a community board. Half of the community board’s members are appointed by the borough president and half are nominated by the City Council members who represent the district. The community boards review applications for zoning changes and other land use proposals and make recommendations for budget priorities. Each community board is assigned a number within its borough. The borough and this number uniquely identify each of the 59 community districts. Therefore, we designate each community district with a two-letter borough code and a two-digit community board code. For example, BK 02 is the community district represented by Community Board 2 in Brooklyn.

Congressional District

The Congressional District where the property is located.
Note: Congressional Districts can be added to maps as a visual boundary, but no indicators are aggregated at this geographic level.

Disabled Population

The percentage of the adult population who have disabilities that impair hearing, vision, ambulation, cognition, self-care, or independent living.
Sources: American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Disconnected Youth

The percentage of people aged 16 to 19 who were neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labor force.
Sources: United States Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

DOF Assessed Value

The assessed total value of the property, in dollars, as determined by the New York City Department of Finance.

Eligible to expire from housing programs (properties, units, time)

Total number of properties/units eligible to expire in the future (expiration based on HUD Financing and Insurance programs, HUD project based rental assistance, LIHTC, and the Mitchell-Lama program only).
Sources: NYU Furman Center’s CoreData.nyc, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, New York City Department Housing Preservation and Development, New York City MapPLUTO

End Date

Date the requirements associated with the subsidy (and this subsidy only) end or expire. If the property is permanently affordable (no foreseeable end-date), the End Date is listed as blank. Some properties (e.g. Mitchell-Lama) the end date reflects the opt-out date. See the CoreData.nyc notes for specific programs for more information in the Directory of NYC Housing Programs.

FHA/VA-backed home purchase loans (% of home purchase loans)

The percentage of all first-lien loan originations, for the purchase of an owner-occupied home, condominium, or cooperative apartment that were insured or guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), as reported by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).
Sources: Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, NYU Furman Center

Foreign-Born Population

This indicator measures the share of the population that is foreign-born. Foreign-born includes all those born outside the United States or Puerto Rico, regardless of whether they currently are United States citizens. Children born abroad to parents who are U.S. citizens are not counted as foreign born.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Higher-Cost Home Purchase Loans (% of home purchase loans)

The percentage of all first-lien loan originations, for the purchase of an owner-occupied 1-4 family home, that were reported as “higher cost” under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
Sources: Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, NYU Furman Center

Higher-Cost Refinance Loans (% of home refinance loans)

The percentage of loan originations, for the refinancing of an owner-occupied 1-4 family home, that were reported as “higher cost” under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
Sources: Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, NYU Furman Center

Home Purchase Loan Rate (per 1,000 properties)

This indicator measures the home purchase loan rate by dividing the number of first-lien home purchase loan originations for owner-occupied one- to four-family buildings, condominiums, or cooperative apartments by the total number of one- to four-family buildings, condominiums, and cooperative apartments in the given geography and then multiplying by 1,000 to establish a rate. This year we have made minor changes to the classification of property types used in the denominator of this indicator, so the values for this indicator differ slightly from what we have published previously. For more information on Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, please refer to the Methods section of this report.

Sources: Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, New York City Department of Finance Final Tax Roll File, NYU Furman Center

Home Purchase Loans in LMI Tracts

The share of all first-lien loans, for the purchase of an owner-occupied 1-4 family building, condominium, or cooperative apartment, that were originated for homes in low- to moderate-income census tracts.
Sources: Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, NYU Furman Center

Home Purchase Loans to LMI Borrowers

The share of all first-lien loan originations, for the purchase of an owner-occupied 1-4 family building, condominium, or cooperative apartment, that were made to low- to moderate-income borrowers.
Sources: Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, NYU Furman Center

Homeownership Rate

This indicator measures the number of owner-occupied units divided by the total number of occupied housing units.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Household Income Distribution

This indicator measures the share of households with household income in one of six brackets: less than $20,000; $20,000-39,999; $40,000-59,999; $60,000-99,999; $100,000- 249,999; and $250,000 or more. Household income is the total income of all members of a household aged 15 years or older. All figures have been adjusted to 2022 dollars. We report data from five-year American Community Survey estimates at the borough and sub-borough levels.

The U.S. Census Bureau advises against comparisons of income data between the decennial census and the American Community Survey (ACS) due to differences in question construction and sampling, and so we urge caution when comparing this indicator over time, particularly at the neighborhood level. For more information on comparisons across years and across U.S. Census Bureau products, please refer to the Methods section of this report.

Sources: American Community Survey via IPUMS-USA University of Minnesota, NYU Furman Center

Households with Children Under 18

This indicator measures the percentage of households with children under 18 present.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Housing Choice Vouchers (% of occupied, privately owned rental units)

This indicator measures the share of all rental households in privately owned units whose occupants use a housing choice voucher from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Because tenants cannot use their vouchers to rent units in public housing, we report this indicator as a percentage of occupied, privately owned rental units. The denominator consists of occupied rental housing units (that is, rental households) from the American Community Survey (ACS) minus the total number of public housing units. For more information about the calculation of this indicator, see the “Housing Choice Vouchers” section of the Methods section. Due to inconsistencies in data collection and reporting before 2009 from the Picture of Subsidized Households, the source of housing choice voucher data, we do not present this indicator before 2009.

Sources: Picture of Subsidized Households, American Community Survey, New York City Housing Authority, NYU Furman Center

Housing Code Violations

Designates whether the property has been issued a Class C (immediately hazardous) Housing Code Violation by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development between the start of January and the end of December, 2022. In 2019, some violation types relating to pests were reclassified from B to C class resulting in a shift in the number of violations from B to C.
Sources: New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, NYU Furman Center

Housing Units

A house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room that is occupied (or is vacant and intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters.
Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

HUD Financing or Insurance (properties/units)

Total number of properties/units (all affordable) receiving a benefit from a HUD Financing or Insurance Program.
Sources: NYU Furman Center’s CoreData.nyc, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, New York City, MapPLUTO

HUD Project-based Rental Assistance Program (properties/units)

Total number of properties/units in properties (including both affordable and market-rate units) receiving a benefit from a HUD Project-based Rental Assistance Program.
Sources: NYU Furman Center’s CoreData.nyc, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, New York City, MapPLUTO

Income Diversity Ratio

This indicator measures income diversity by dividing the income earned by the 80th percentile household by the income earned by the 20th percentile household, excluding all households without positive income. For example, if the 80th percentile income is $75,000 and the 20th percentile income is $15,000, then the income diversity ratio is 5.0. A higher ratio indicates a broader spread of incomes. The income diversity ratio does not measure the distribution of income. To give a better sense of the distribution, each page also includes a chart showing the percentage of households in a given geographic area that fall into each of several income categories. The percentages in the charts may not add up to 100 percent because of rounding.

Sources: IPUMS-USA, University of Minnesota, NYU Furman Center

Index of Housing Price Appreciation (all property types)

The average price changes in repeated sales of the same properties (1 family properties, 2-4 family properties, 5+ family properties, and all property types). In 2022, the Furman Center team reviewed the methodology and made minor revisions regarding repeat sales sample construction and repeat sales weighting in index calculation. We recommend users not compare the indices released after 2022 to the estimates published in our prior reports.
Sources: New York City Department of Finance (DOF), Automated City Register Information System (ACRIS), NYU Furman Center

Labor Force Participation Rate

The number of people aged 16 years and older who are in the civilian labor force, divided by the total number of non-institutionalized people aged 16 years and older.
Sources: United States Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Lots Regulated by the LPC

A lot covered by a historic district or designated as an individual or interior landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Sources: New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, NYU Furman Center

Low Income Housing Tax Credit (properties/units)

Total number of properties/units in properties (including both affordable and market-rate units) receiving a benefit from the Low Income Housing Tax Credit.
Sources: Sources: NYU Furman Center’s CoreData.nyc, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, New York City, MapPLUTO

Mean Travel Time to Work (minutes)

This indicator measures the mean commute time in minutes for commuters residing in the geographic area. The mean is calculated by dividing the aggregate commute time in minutes for each area by the number of workers 16 years old and older who did not work from home.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Median Amount Sought in Private Eviction Filings

The median amount of money sought by private (non-NYCHA) landlords, excluding condos and co-ops, at the time of filing for non-payment cases filed in NYC Housing Court.
Sources: New York State Office of Court Administration, NYU Furman Center

Median Household Income

Household income is the total income of all members of a household aged 15 years or older. All figures have been adjusted to 2022 dollars. The U.S. Census Bureau advises against comparing income data between the decennial census and the American Community Survey (ACS) due to differences in question construction and sampling, so we urge caution when comparing this indicator over time, particularly at the neighborhood level. For more information on comparisons across years and across U.S. Census Bureau products, please refer to the Methods section of this report.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Median Rent (asking)

The median rent that landlords advertise for housing units available for rent.
Source: StreetEasy, NYU Furman Center

Median Rent Burden

The median percentage of gross, pre-tax income spent on gross rent by NYC renter households.
Sources: New York City Housing Authority, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Median Rent, All

The monthly rent we report is gross rent, which includes two components: the amount agreed to or specified in the lease regardless of whether furnishings, utilities, or services are included; and the estimated monthly electricity and heating fuel costs paid by the renter. Because the pre-compiled summary tables from the American Community Survey (ACS) do not report estimates for median gross rent when the median is above $2,000, medians above that level come from the Public Use Microdata Sample of the ACS. Although the U.S. Census Bureau advises that rent estimates from the 2000 decennial census are not generally comparable to rent estimates from the ACS, the incompatibility stems from the ways in which rents for properties with large areas of undeveloped land were calculated; because New York City has very few such properties, we report 2000 estimates for median rent but advise some caution in comparing those figures to later years. For more information on comparisons across years, please refer to the Methods section of this report.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Median Rent, Recent Movers

As with the indicator Median Rent, All, this indicator reports the monthly gross rent, but we restrict to only households in which every household member moved into the unit within the previous 12 months (prior to the date of their ACS interview, which could have happened at any time during the calendar year). By restricting to these recent mover households this measure of median rents should more closely reflect the rents that a household would face when moving into a rental unit, because it excludes households that may have lower rents as a result of long term tenure. To allow for this sample restriction we cannot use the pre-compiled summary tables from the American Community Survey (ACS), and instead rely solely on the Public Use Microdata Sample of the ACS.

Sources: IPUMS-USA, University of Minnesota, NYU Furman Center

Median Rent, Studios and One-Bedrooms, Two- and Three-Bedrooms

As with the indicator Median Rent, All, this indicator reports the monthly gross rent, but we restrict it to only studios and one-bedrooms or two- and three-bedrooms.
Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Median Sales Price per Unit (by housing type)

The median price per unit for one unit buildings, two- to four-unit buildings or condominiums, and multifamily buildings, whichever had a greater number of sales.
Sources: New York City Department of Finance, Automated City Register Information System (ACRIS), NYU Furman Center

Mitchell-Lama (properties/units)

Total number of properties/units in properties (all affordable) receiving a benefit from the Mitchell-Lama program .
Sources: NYU Furman Center’s CoreData.nyc, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, New York State Homes and Community Renewal, New York City MapPLUTO

Moderately Rent Burdened Households (% of all, low-income, and moderate-income households)

The share of renter households whose gross rent made up at least 30 percent of their monthly pre-tax income.
Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, US Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 8/HOME Program Income Guidelines, NYU Furman Center

Notices of Foreclosure (all residential properties)

The total number of residential properties that had mortgage foreclosure actions initiated against them.​
Sources: Public Data Corporation, New York City Department of Finance Final Tax Roll File, NYU Furman Center

Notices of Foreclosure Rate (per 1,000 1-4 family and condo units)

This indicator measures the number of mortgage foreclosure actions initiated per 1,000 one- to four unit properties and condominium units. For this indicator, we report the number of one- to four-family properties and condominium units that have received a mortgage-related lis pendens in the given calendar year per 1,000 one- to four-family properties and condominium units. Cooperative apartments are not included in this rate. If a property received multiple lis pendens within 90 days of each other, only the first lis pendens is counted here. This year we have made minor changes to the classification of property types used in the denominator of this indicator, so the values for this indicator differ slightly from what we have published previously. For a more detailed description of our lis pendens methodology, please refer to the Methods section of this report.

Sources: Public Data Corporation, New York City Department of Finance Final Tax Roll File, NYU Furman Center

Notices of Foreclosure, Initial/Repeat (1-4 family and condo properties)

This indicator distinguishes between a new lis pendens and a repeat filing issued to a property that already received a lis pendens in the past six years.
Sources: Public Data Corporation, New York City Department of Finance Final Tax Roll File, NYU Furman Center

NYC Housing Production Programs and Zoning Incentives or Requirements (properties)

Total number of properties that entered a New York City housing production program or zoning incentive or requirement between July 1,  2003 and December 31, 2019.
Sources: NYU Furman Center’s CoreData.nyc, New York City Department Housing Preservation and Development, New York City MapPLUTO

Owner

The person or entity that owns the property, as reported by the New York City Department of Finance.

Population

The U.S. Census Bureau defines population as all people, both children and adults, living in a given geographic area.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Population Aged 25+ with a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher

This indicator measures the population aged 25 and older who have attained at least a bachelor’s degree, including those with a master’s, professional or doctoral degree, as a percentage of the entire population in a given geographic area.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Population Aged 25+ without a High School Diploma

This indicator measures the population aged 25 and older who have not graduated from high school and have not received a GED, as a percentage of the entire population in a given geographic area.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Population Aged 65 and Older

This indicator measures residents who are aged 65 years and older as a percentage of the entire population in a given geographic area.

Sources: U.S. Census , American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Population Density (1,000 persons per square mile)

Population density is calculated by dividing a geographic area’s population by its land area and is reported in thousands of people per square mile. The U.S. Census Bureau advises that American Community Survey (ACS) population estimates should be compared with caution across years. For more information on comparisons across years, please refer to the Methods section of this report.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Poverty Rate

This indicator measures the number of people below the poverty threshold divided by the number of people for whom poverty status was determined. Poverty status is determined by the U.S. Census Bureau based on household size, composition, the number of children under 18 years of age, and individual or family income. The U.S. Census Bureau advises that American Community Survey (ACS) poverty data should be compared with caution across years. For more information on comparisons across years, please refer to the Methods section of this report.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Poverty Rate by Age

The number of people in each age group below the poverty line divided by the total population of that age group for whom poverty status was determined.
Sources: United States Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Pre-Foreclosure Notice Rate (per 1,000 1-4 family and condo properties)

The rate of pre-foreclosure notices issued per 1,000 1-4 family homes and condominium units. These notices are sent 90 days prior to starting a foreclosure action.​
Sources: New York State Department of Financial Services, New York City Department of Finance Final Tax Roll File, NYU Furman Center

Pre-Foreclosure Notices (1-4 family and condo properties)

The total number of pre-foreclosure notices issued to homeowners of 1-4 family homes and condominium units. These notices are sent 90 days prior to starting a foreclosure action.​
Sources: New York State Department of Financial Services, New York City Department of Finance Final Tax Roll File, NYU Furman Center

Preservation Type

The condition of the building, and inferred purpose of the subsidy at the time of the Start Date (new construction or rehabilitation).  

Preservation Type

Programs that subsidize physical improvements to a property will often specify the property conditions at the start of the program. The subsidy is categorized as either  “New Construction” or “Preservation”.

Private Eviction Filings

The number of eviction cases filed in NYC Housing Court by private (non-NYCHA) landlords, excluding condos and co-ops.
Sources: New York State Office of Court Administration, NYU Furman Center

Private Eviction Filings Rate (per 1,000 private rental units)

The number of eviction cases filed in NYC Housing Court by private (non-NYCHA) landlords, excluding condos and co-ops, divided by the number of private rental units.
Sources: New York State Office of Court Administration, New York City Department of Finance, New York City Housing Authority, NYU Furman Center

Project Name

The name of the development, project, or building – where available.

Properties that Entered REO (1–4 family)

The total number of 1-4 family buildings that completed the foreclosure process and were acquired by the foreclosing lender.
Sources: Public Data Corporation, New York City Department of Finance (DOF), Automated City Register Information System (ACRIS), NYU Furman Center

Public housing (% of rental units)

This indicator measures the number of public housing units divided by the number of renter occupied housing units. Counts of public housing units are calculated from building-level data files provided by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). The number of renter occupied housing units are derived from American Community Survey (ACS) estimates.

Sources: New York City Housing Authority, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Public Housing (properties/units)

Total number of public housing properties/units in properties (includes housing owned and operated by NYCHA even if the properties were not originally public housing).
Sources: NYU Furman Center’s CoreData.nyc, New York City Housing Authority, New York City MapPLUTO

Racial Diversity Index

The Racial Diversity Index (RDI) measures the probability that two randomly chosen people in a given geographic area will be of a different race. The NYU Furman Center uses the categories of Asian (non-Hispanic), Black (non-Hispanic), Hispanic (of any race), and white (non-Hispanic) to calculate the index. People identifying as some other race or reporting more than one race are excluded from this calculation. Nonetheless, the groups we focus on accounted for 95.9 percent of New York City’s population in 2021. The RDI is calculated using the following formula:

RDI = 1 – (Percent_Asian² + Percent_Black² + Percent_Hispanic² + Percent_white²)

A higher number indicates a more racially diverse population. For instance, if an area is inhabited by a single racial/ethnic group, its RDI would be zero. If the population of a neighborhood is evenly distributed among the four groups (25% of residents are Asian, 25% Black, 25% Hispanic, and 25% white), its RDI would be 0.75. In practice, in neighborhoods with a large share of residents who do not fall into any of the four groups, the RDI may be slightly greater than 0.75.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Racial/Ethnic Share (Asian, Black, Hispanic, White)

This indicator measures the percentage of the total population made up of each of the following racial/ethnic groups: Asian (non-Hispanic), Black (non-Hispanic), Hispanic (of any race), and white (non-Hispanic). The percentages of the four groups may not add up to 100 because people of other races or two or more races are not displayed.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

REAC Score

This is the numeric portion of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) most recent Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) score. REAC aims to score a property’s physical condition, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best) and only pertains to properties in a HUD portfolio.
Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, NYU Furman Center

Refinance Loan Rate (per 1,000 properties)

The number of refinance loans for owner-occupied 1-4 family buildings, condominiums, and cooperative apartments divided by the total number of 1-4 family buildings, condominiums, and cooperative apartments in the given geographic area.
Sources: Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, New York City Department of Finance Final Tax Roll File, NYU Furman Center

Regulatory Tools

Regulatory tools refer to the type of subsidy a property owner has received or is receiving in exchange for providing affordable housing.  The number of rent-restricted units, the length of time those units remain rent-restricted, and the location of those units depends on the regulatory tool type, or subsidy type.  

Other properties associated with the same regulatory agreement (see the Methodology page for additional description).

Rental Units Affordable at 30%, 80%, 120% of AMI (% of recently available units)

Recently available units are defined as affordable to a household if its gross rent (rent plus electricity and heating fuel costs; see median rent definition) is less than 30 percent of the household’s gross monthly income. In order to represent the experiences of households with different incomes, we report shares of rental units affordable at 30 percent (the “extremely low-income” limit), 80 percent (the “low-income” limit), and 120 percent (the “moderate-income” limit) of the area median income (AMI) as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 and HOME program guidelines. For units without bedrooms (studios), we determine affordability based on one-person income limits; one-bedroom units use two-person income limits; two-bedroom units use three-person income limits; and units with three or more bedrooms use four-person income limits.

Sources: IPUMS-USA, University of Minnesota, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, NYU Furman Center

Rental Vacancy Rate

This indicator measures habitable, for-rent rental units that are vacant as a percentage of renter-occupied units plus the vacant, habitable, for-rent units. This calculation excludes housing units in group quarters, such as hospitals, jails, mental institutions, and college dormitories, as well as units that are rented but not occupied and units that are in such poor condition that they are not habitable. We report data from five-year American Community Survey (ACS) estimates at the sub-borough level.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Residential Units in FEMA Preliminary Flood Hazard Areas

The percentage of residential units that fall in either the 100- or 500-year floodplains in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps.
Sources: Federal Emergency Management Agency, PLUTO, NYU Furman Center

Residential Units within ¼ Mile of a Park

The percentage of residential units that are within a ¼ mile of a park.
Sources: New York City Department of Parks and Recreation; New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation; PLUTO; NYU Furman Center

Residential Units within ½ Mile of a Subway/Rail Entrance

The percentage of residential units that are within a ½ mile walk of a station entrance for the New York City Subway, Long Island Rail Road, PATH, Amtrak, Metro-North Railroad, or Staten Island Railway.
Sources: New York City Department of Transportation, New York City Department of City Planning, NYU Furman Center

Sales Volume (housing type)

The number of transactions of residential properties that have a non-trivial price and the sale must not be marked as “insignificant” by the Department of Finance.
Sources: New York City Department of Finance, Automated City Register Information System (ACRIS), NYU Furman Center

Serious Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents)

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) collects data on criminal complaints, which the department reports consistent with classifications set primarily by the New York State Penal Law. A crime is considered serious if it is classified as a major felony as defined by the NYPD. This category contains most types of assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, murder (including non-negligent manslaughter), rape, and robbery. Serious property crimes include most types of burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. Serious violent crime includes most types of assault, murder (including non-negligent manslaughter), rape, and robbery. Rates are calculated as the number of crimes committed in a given geographic area per 1,000 residents (based on decennial population counts) and it is possible that perpetrators or victims of crimes may reside in other neighborhoods or outside of New York City. For data from 2006 and later, we use NYC Open Data. For years prior to 2006, we use NYPD data. Because precise geographic information is not available for rape and sex crime offenses, we exclude these crimes from the rate calculation at the community district level.

Sources: New York City Police Department, U.S. Census, NYU Furman Center

Serious Housing Code Violations (per 1,000 privately owned rental units)

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) investigates housing code complaints from tenants in privately owned units and issues code violations if housing inspections reveal problems. Serious housing code violations are coded as class C (“immediately hazardous”). These numbers include all violations that HPD opened in a given time period, regardless of their current status. The New York City Housing Authority has a parallel process for recording and inspecting housing violations within public housing. Their violations are not included in this indicator, so we exclude public housing units from the denominator. For data from 2012 and later, we use NYC Open Data. For years prior to 2012, we use HPD data. The base data for this file is all violations open as of October 1, 2012. All violations issued since that date have been added to the file and the current status of the violation is provided. The file is updated daily with status changes and newly issued violations. An open violation is a violation which is still active on the Department records. In 2020 some violation types relating to pests were reclassified from B to C class resulting in a shift in the number of violations from B to C.

Sources: New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, New York City Department of Finance Final Tax Roll File, New York City Housing Authority, NYU Furman Center

Severe Crowding Rate (% of renter households)

A severely crowded household is defined as one in which there are more than 1.5 household members for each room (excluding bathrooms) in the unit. We present the indicator as a share of all renter households. For the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS), the Census Bureau substantially changed its survey question and processing pertaining to the number of rooms in a housing unit. These changes prevent comparison with earlier years. Due to small sample sizes, we report the five-year estimates from the ACS for sub-borough areas.

Sources: American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Severely Rent Burdened Households (% of all, low-income, and moderate-income households)

This indicator measures the share of renter households whose gross rent (rent plus electricity and heating fuel costs; see median rent definition) equaled at least 50 percent of their income. These households are classified as severely rent burdened. Low-income households have incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median income as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 and HOME program guidelines. Comparisons between the overall rate of severe rent burden and the rate of severe rent burden among low-income renters should be made with caution as the data sources differ slightly. The overall rate comes from pre-compiled summary tables of the 2000 decennial census and the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates while the rate among moderate- income renters is calculated from the Public Use Microdata Sample. Subsidized renters may be erroneously classified as rent burdened by the ACS under certain circumstances.

Sources: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, IPUMS-USA, University of Minnesota, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 8/HOME Program Income Guidelines, NYU Furman Center

Single-Person Households

The percentage of households with only one member.
Sources: United States Census, American Community Survey, NYU Furman Center

Start Date

Date the subsidy was issued or when the property was “placed in service”.

State House District

The State House District where the property is located.
Note: State House Districts can be added to maps as a visual boundary, but no indicators are aggregated at this geographic level.

State Senate District

The State Senate District where the property is located.
Note: State Senate Districts can be added to maps as a visual boundary, but no indicators are aggregated at this geographic level.

Students Performing at Grade Level, Fourth Grade (English language arts, math)

These indicators report the percentage of fourth-grade students performing at or above grade level (termed “proficient”). The New York City Department of Education’s (DOE) Division of Performance and Accountability develops and administers city and state tests and compiles data on students’ performance on those tests. The DOE provides these data at the school level. For each community district, we aggregate the proficiency rates from each school in that community district, even if some students in that school live outside the community district. In 2013, DOE implemented new exams based on New York State’s Common Core standards. As a result, proficiency rates for those exams are not comparable to rates from exams given before 2013 and should not be compared to rates in previous years’ State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods reports. For this indicator, school years are labeled according to the calendar year in which the school year ends. For example, 2019 corresponds to the 2018-2019 school year. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, these exams were not administered in 2020 and were optional for students to take in 2021. Therefore, the 2020 data points were unavailable, and the 2021 results may not accurately represent student performance.

Sources: New York City Department of Education, NYU Furman Center

Sub-Borough Area

Sub-borough areas are geographic units created by the U.S. Census Bureau for the administration of the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey and were designed to have similar boundaries to those of community districts. Sub-borough areas are coterminous with the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), so we are able to use the two terms interchangeably. Sub-borough areas are referred to using a three-digit number, where the first digit signifies the borough (we number boroughs in alphabetical order, with the Bronx being 1 and Staten Island being 5). There are 59 community districts in New York City but only 55 sub-borough areas. The U.S. Census Bureau combined four pairs of community districts in creating the sub-borough areas to improve sampling and protect the confidentiality of respondents. These pairs are:

  • SBA 101 (PUMA 3810 Battery Park City, Greenwich Village & Soho):
    Community Districts Financial District (MN 01) and Greenwich Village/Soho (MN 02)
  • SBA 103 (PUMA 3807 Chelsea, Clinton & Midtown Business District):
    Community Districts Clinton/Chelsea (MN 04) and Midtown (MN 05)
  • SBA 201 (PUMA 3710  Hunts Point, Longwood & Melrose):
    Community Districts Mott Haven/Melrose (BX 01) and Hunts Point/Longwood (BX 02)
  • SBA 103 (PUMA 3705 Belmont, Crotona Park East & East Tremont):
    Community Districts Morrisania/Crotona (BX 03) and Belmont/East Tremont (BX 06)

Because sub-borough areas are constructed from Census tracts, their boundaries do not coincide precisely with community district boundaries, which generally follow major streets. However, they are similar enough that we use them interchangeably throughout this report. The U.S. Census Bureau periodically updates its geographic boundaries for each decennial census, and so the shapes of sub-borough areas changed slightly between the 2011 and 2012 releases of the American Community Survey. Although we treat these different vintages of sub-borough areas as being consistent over time, we advise some caution when comparing estimates from 2018 to earlier years.

Tax Delinquency

A residential property is considered tax delinquent if the tax payment for the property was not received within one year of the due date and the balance due is at least $500.
Sources: New York City Department of Finance, NYU Furman Center

Tenure Type

The terms of occupancy for the property’s residents (for example, rental or co-op).

Total Housing Code Violations (per 1,000 privately owned rental units)

All violations that the Department of Housing Preservation and Development defined as class A (“non-hazardous”), class B (“hazardous”), or class C (“immediately hazardous”) that were opened in a given time period, regardless of their current status.
Sources: New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, New York City Department of Finance Final Tax Roll File, New York City Housing Authority, NYU Furman Center

Total number of subsidized properties

Total number of subsidized properties (includes federal programs, Mitchell-Lama, NYC Housing Production Programs and Zoning Incentives or Requirements, and New York State Property Tax Incentives, except 421-a and J-51).
Sources: NYU Furman Center’s CoreData.nyc, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, New York City Housing Authority, New York City Department of Finance, New York City Department Housing Preservation and Development, New York City MapPLUTO

Total Units

The total number of residential units in the property, including both subsidized and unsubsidized units.