Brooklyn
Staring Down the Wrecking Ball, These Brooklyn Grandmothers Won’t Be Moved
Emma Whitford |
A Crown Heights building in limbo could inspire more landlords to deregulate through demolition—or more tenants to fight to stay in their homes.
Citywide
NYC Still Slow To Process Most Food Stamp, Cash Aid Applications
Emma Whitford |
The first four months of Fiscal Year 2024 saw timely processing of just 14.3 percent of cash assistance applications—a new low—and 41.6 percent of SNAP applications. Delays can have serious consequences for applicants, from hunger to missed rent payments that can put families at risk of eviction.
Citywide
‘Why Are You Making It So Difficult’? NYC Cash Aid Applicants Face Denial Surge
Emma Whitford and Patrick Spauster |
The volume of cash assistance applications in New York City has increased dramatically in recent years. But as more households receive aid, the city is also issuing more procedural denials, in the hundreds of thousands.
Government
Tracking NYC’s Record-High Homeless Shelter Population
Patrick Spauster, Adrian Nesta and Emma Whitford |
With additional city agencies now providing more emergency lodging than ever before in a system that officials say is at a breaking point, monitoring the total number of people in shelter has only become more important—and more complicated.
Brooklyn
The Quest to Clean Up Coney Island Creek, Part 1: Industrial Past Collides with a Superstorm
Nina Dietz |
While the last decade has seen cleanup efforts planned or launched at some of the city’s most polluted waterways, like Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek, the community has struggled to get traction for a comprehensive cleaning plan for Coney Island Creek, despite its continued recreational use and multiple requests for action by local leaders.
Government
NYC Senior Centers See Rebounding Demand
Jeanmarie Evelly |
The city’s more than 300 Older Adult Centers saw an average of 24,261 daily participants during the last fiscal year that ended in June, still shy of pre-pandemic numbers but up nearly 28 percent since 2021-2022.
Government
City Officials Grilled on Staffing Needs Amid Public Benefit Processing ‘Crisis’
Emma Whitford |
The interrogation from councilmembers came on the heels of new data showing processing delays the likes of which New Yorkers haven’t seen in at least a decade.
Government
‘A Lot of False Hope’: City Data Show Ongoing Barriers To Supportive Housing
Emma Whitford |
While the Department of Social Services says more people were accepted into supportive housing last year than the year prior, a new report shows persistent barriers and rejections, including some that violate the city’s own guidance.
Government
NYC Failing to Process Most Food Stamp, Cash Benefit Applications on Time
Emma Whitford |
Timely processing rates plummeted to under 30 percent for cash assistance applications and under 40 percent for SNAP for the fiscal year ending in June, according to the latest Mayor’s Management Report.
Brooklyn
A Real Estate Trust Bought Dozens of Brooklyn Brownstones. Now It Wants Out.
Patrick Spauster |
A real estate trust bought single-family homes in gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhoods, renovated, and rented them out at a premium. With the trust now looking to offload the assets, tenants are left in an uncertain position, feeling like homeownership is further out of reach than ever.
