A recent survey of apartment tenants in Chinatown and Flushing found that Chinese-Americans, who made up almost 40 percent of respondents, pay a greater proportion of their income for rent than native-born Americans, but have much poorer living conditions. The report, issued in preliminary form on the 12th, was co-authored by the Immigrant Housing Coalition (IHC), Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), and other organizations.
The report, Confronting the Squeeze, surveyed nearly 500 households in immigrant communities, using a random sampling and questionnaires. Results show that immigrants’ have less of a chance of getting equitable rentals than native-born Americans.
Richard Lee, representative for AAFE, said that in Manhattan’s Chinatown and Flushing in Queens, 48 percent of respondents viewed rent as a heavy burden, 30 percent of Asian-American respondents said that their living conditions were crowded, and 19 percent share room with others.
The survey shows that from 2002 to 2005, average yearly income has dropped by 6.3 percent for New York’s middle-income families, while average rent has increased by 8 percent and affordable housing has become scarcer. Although the crises in the financial and real estate markets have caused prices to drop, foreclosures have increased, forcing even more immigrants to move out.
According to the survey data, skyrocketing housing prices have caused the portion of income of that lower-income immigrants spend on rent to increase from 43 percent to more than one half. From 1999 to 2005, rents have increased most in Queens’ Bayside area – 32 percent – and have jumped by 21 percent in Chinatown. The report also notes that Chinese often have to pay an extra sum of money “under the table” to landlords in order to obtain rentals.
Immigrants’ living conditions are crowded, with residents often living at three times the density of native-born Americans, the survey shows. Many immigrants live in illegally renovated units or even in illegally rented basement areas. The survey estimates that there are around 100,000 units throughout the city that do not meet legal standards, and 70 percent of immigrant respondents said that their living conditions are poor and that they worry about hygiene and safety. However, the report also shows that Chinese immigrants from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the mainland are generally more satisfied with their living conditions than African Americans, Latin Americans, and other groups, showing that Chinese’ expectations for their living environments are not high.
