Press Release
Affordable Housing and Access to Healthcare are top Concerns of NYC Residents, New CSS Report Finds
Other priorities include access to college education, workforce development initiatives and childcare
For many of New York’s working-class families and households, the increasing costs of food, housing, healthcare, bus and subway fares, childcare and other essentials are making it increasingly difficult to live and raise a family in New York City. As these New Yorkers are pushed farther to the edge financially, Mayor Adams has warned city residents to prepare for painful spending cuts and reduced services as his administration tries to balance the budget.
A new Community Service Society of New York (CSS) report, New Yorkers Say Housing and Healthcare Are Top Priorities for Getting Ahead Economically, sheds light on the voices, perspectives and opinions of New Yorkers struggling to gain an economic foothold in one of the most expensive places in the world to live. Findings from the report are based on CSS’s annual Unheard Third Survey, the longest running regular public opinion poll of low-income households in the country.
Highlights of the report include:
- Most New Yorkers (45 percent) view the lack of affordable housing as a major barrier preventing them from getting ahead.
- Access to affordable healthcare ranks as the second highest priority for moderate/high income New Yorkers with 30 percent of the respondents favoring it as their second most important factor.
- Following affordable housing and healthcare, New Yorkers believe access to job training and making college education more affordable (22 percent) would help them get ahead in today’s economy, underscoring how education and career readiness play pivotal roles in enabling economic mobility in NYC.
- Finally, childcare affordability is a rising concern among New Yorkers; 20 percent of low-income, working mothers expressed increased access to affordable childcare as a top priority for economic advancement.
“The mayor has proposed severe spending cuts that, should they go through, will no doubt compound an already dire economic situation for many of the city’s low-income working households, 50 percent of whom report struggling to afford basic needs such as food, healthcare, housing and transportation,” said David R. Jones, CSS President and CEO. “During these fraught budgetary times, we hope city and state policymakers will consider the findings in this new report, which highlight measures and legislation that will improve the economic mobility of New Yorkers and ease the burden on families who are most vulnerable.”
“This report came together with input from a host of CSS policy experts across several issue domains,” said Jennifer Hinojosa, Policy Analyst and lead author of the study. “And what we saw in this year’s Unheard Third Survey echoes what New Yorkers have been experiencing over the last year, and relatedly, policy changes that CSS has been advocating for to address housing, healthcare, student loan debt, workforce development, and overall, the cost of living in this city.”
“This city is becoming increasingly inhospitable to low-income individuals and families and failing them in multiple ways,” said Debipriya Chatterjee, Senior Economist at CSS and co-author on the study. “We intend for the recommendations in this report to be a call to action for our elected officials who need to be bolder in their approach to ensuring that New Yorkers can thrive and achieve their full potential here.”
The report outlines specific policy recommendations to change the city’s and state’s housing, health, and economic landscape for all New Yorkers. Some of the recommendations include:
Housing Affordability: Pass state legislation including `Good Cause’, Right to Counsel, the Housing Access Voucher Program and the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, and at the city level implement a package of City Council reforms to the CityFHEPS voucher program, all of which would protect tenants against unfair eviction, displacement and curb skyrocketing rent increases.
Access to Affordable Healthcare: Fund consumer assistance programs that help New Yorkers access financial assistance and enroll in affordable health coverage; expand health benefits to New Yorkers regardless of their immigration status; advance legislation under the #EndMedicalDebt campaign, including modernizing the state’s hospital financial assistance application by increasing income eligibility limits and simplifying the discount schedule and eligibility rules.
Affordable College: Pass the New Deal for CUNY which would eliminate tuition fees for low and moderate income students.
Workforce Development: Address structural barriers to internships, apprenticeships and other job opportunities for women and people of color through enhanced childcare funding, passing the Federal Jobs Act, closing the digital divide and offering flexible schedules for workforce development and training.
Childcare: Expand the Empire State Child Credit (ESCC) to benefit all families; increase access to childcare vouchers among Black and Latino New Yorkers to address disparities in childcare voucher access; integrate childcare centers into public housing community centers, settlement houses and community colleges to allow parents to pursue educational opportunities and expand opportunities for better jobs.
In the weeks and months to come, CSS will release several policy briefs that delve deeper into the findings and issues raised by the report.