The city saw a jump in the number of New Yorkers who are living in tight conditions, according to a report released Monday by the city comptroller’s office.
The analysis by Scott Stringer’s office estimated that in 2013 there were 1,476,746 residents living in crowded homes in New York City – with overcrowding defined as an average number of two or more people per room in a household.
The comptroller said the report represents a growing problem that goes beyond people’s breathing room, since research shows crowding leads to higher health risks, like mental stress, and fire hazards.
The report was derived from census data on rental and private housing in the city between 2005 and 2013.
Those living in units with an average of more than one person per room went up 15.8% during that time period. New Yorkers living in homes with an average of more than 1.5 people per room, designated severely crowded, shot up 44.8% in those eight years.
Stringer pushed the city to come up with ideas to mitigate the crowding, including putting out more data about the public health effects of the constricted living. A spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office said the city is already working to create and preserve 200,000 affordable housing units in the next decade.
“At the same time, we are doubling down to protect the rights of existing tenants to keep families in their homes and neighborhoods,” spokesman Wiley Norvell said in a statement.
