NYC Comptroller's Office Issues Report on Senior Housing

A new report by the New York City’s Comptroller’s office, “Senior Housing in New York City: The Coming Crisis,” examines the effects of escalating housing costs and offers recommendations that would not only help lessen the burden on City seniors but also defray the need for more intensive and expensive care. The City’s senior population is growing fast: the number of New Yorkers over age 60 rose 12.4 percent from 2000 to 2010, as compared to a 2.1 percent increase in the City population overall during that period, according to U.S. Census figures.

The report found that 53 percent of households headed by those between ages 60 and 69 pay more than 30 percent of their income on rent – a level considered unaffordable by federal standards – and fully 66 percent of households headed by those 70 and over pay unaffordable rents by the same measure. The report also found nearly 20 percent of the City’s 60+ population lives below the poverty line compared to nine percent nationally, and evictions of seniors account for 15 percent of all evictions in the City.

The report recommends a number of measures, including:

• Revise rules on the City’s Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) to take into account household size and inflation, plus increase outreach efforts;
• Create a tax credit for families that take in elderly dependents; and
• Increase aid to programs that help seniors stay in their homes longer.

The full report is available here. 

Contact: Ken Harris, kharris@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383, ext. 139.