GARDEN CITY, NY –In 2014, the Village of Garden City settled a 14-year long housing discrimination lawsuit, brought by New York Communities for Change (NYCC). The lawsuit forced the Village to pay $5.3 million dollars in legal fees and relief, as well as to implement affordable housing requirements for all future building structures.
Garden City has been a segregated community since it was founded in 1869, even now, in the 2010 census it was reported that the population of the village was about 90 percent white and only 10 percent minority. In 2015, the Long Island Workforce Housing Act was passed to make fair and affordable housing more accessible to Long Island residents by requiring a minimum of 10 percent of the proposed housing structure units be set aside as low-income or affordable workforce housing.
And yet, the current population of the Village remains 90 percent white and 10 percent minority.
Last month the Southern Land Company, a development company, proposed building 150-unit apartments at 555 Stewart Avenue, 10 percent of which will be designated affordable housing rental units for low income families. Giuseppe Giovanniello, the superintendent of building for Garden City, said that if the structure is approved it will be four stories and will include one and two bedroom apartments.
The Long Island Community Foundation helped to fund NYCC’s lawsuit against the village. Sol Marie Jones, senior program officer for the organization, said that the region is “skewed by pockets of wealth. A better law is needed, she said, “to reflect the different levels of income that are more realistic for the working families in our region.” Jones explained that the concept of affordable housing is also misunderstood and needs to be redefined.
“Section 8 is a very important government program that helps people that need it to have access to safe and quality housing…but that’s only one portion of affordable housing. Affordable housing is where you don’t have to spend more than 35 percent of your income on housing.”
According to a 2013 study published by the Long Island Community Foundation “rents have increased by 17 percent since 2000 while incomes declined by two percent.” The Foundation also found that about “four in 10 Long Island households today spend 35 percent of their income on housing costs,” which is not affordable for most incomes on Long Island.
William Bailey, the Long Island area organizer for New York Communities for Change, said that he camped out for three nights in 2017 to protest housing segregation in Garden City.
“We did another tent city,” said Bailey, “and the amount of racism that I was hit with…people were screaming ‘go Trump’ as if that was supposed to phase me. They hit us with the n-bombs, f-bombs. A lot of them kept telling us go get a job.”
Bailey, an African American college graduate, said that despite the fact that he’s employed, even he struggles with finding affordable housing on Long Island, not only because of the price but also because of his race. “They use terms like ‘overcrowding’,” he said. Meaning, “we don’t want people of color to be living in our community.”
“They need to wake up and come out of whatever era they’re in and join 2019,” agreed Bailey’s supervisor and the director of the Long Island area for NYCC, Lucas Sanchez. “There is land that can be developed. They just need to get past the racism and build affordable housing. It’s very simple.”
By 2030, Long Island is projected to be majority minority, that’s 10 years earlier than any other area in the country.
“It’s better today than it was yesterday, but there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done,” said Jones.
Representatives for the Village of Garden City Planning Commission and the Zoning Board for Appeals declined to comment.
Jiji la Garden City, NY, lilipambana na kesi ya ubaguzi wa makazi ya miaka 14 iliyoletwa na Jumuiya za New York kwa Mabadiliko (NYCC). Madai hayo yalilazimisha kijiji cha New York kulipa dola milioni 5.3 kwa ada za kisheria na misaada, na pia kutekeleza mahitaji ya makazi ya bei nafuu kwa miundo yote ya ujenzi wa baadaye. Garden City imekuwa jamii iliyojitenga tangu kuanzishwa kwake mnamo 1869, hata sasa, katika sensa ya 2010 iliripotiwa kuwa idadi ya watu wa kijiji hicho ilikuwa karibu asilimia 90 nyeupe na asilimia 10 tu ya watu wachache. Sheria ya Nyumba ya Wafanyakazi ya Long Island ilitolewa mnamo 2015 ili kufanya makazi ya haki na ya bei nafuu ya Long Island iweze kupatikana kwa wakazi wa Long Island kwa kuhitaji angalau asilimia 10 ya vitengo vya ujenzi wa nyumba zilizopendekezwa kuwekwa kando kama nyumba za mapato ya chini au za bei nafuu. Hata hivyo, idadi ya watu wa kijiji hicho ni 90% wazungu na 10% wa jamii ndogo. Kampuni ya ujenzi ya Southern Land Company imependekeza ujenzi wa vyumba 150 katika barabara ya 555 Stewart Avenue, ambapo asilimia 10 ya vyumba hivyo vitakuwa vya kukodisha kwa gharama nafuu kwa familia zenye mapato ya chini. "Giuseppe Giovanello, msimamizi wa ujenzi wa Garden City, alisema kwamba ikiwa jengo hilo litaidhinishwa, litakuwa na orofa nne na litajumuisha vyumba vya chumba kimoja na vyumba vya chumba cha kulala viwili.""" Long Island Community Foundation ilisaidia kufadhili kesi ya NYCC dhidi ya kijiji hicho. Sol Marie Jones, afisa mwandamizi wa programu ya shirika hilo, alisema kwamba mkoa huo ni "mwenye kupotoshwa na mifuko ya utajiri". "Kama sheria bora inahitajika, alisema, ""kuonyesha viwango tofauti vya mapato ambayo ni ya kweli zaidi kwa familia za wafanyakazi katika mkoa wetu,"" Jones alielezea kuwa dhana ya makazi ya bei nafuu pia inaeleweka vibaya na inahitaji kufafanuliwa upya." """Sehemu ya 8 ni mpango muhimu sana wa serikali ambao unasaidia watu wanaohitaji kuwa na upatikanaji wa makazi salama na ya ubora, lakini hiyo ni sehemu moja tu ya makazi ya bei nafuu." "Kwa mfano, ""mashahara ya nyumba ya gharama nafuu"" ni asilimia 35 ya mapato ya nyumba ya kawaida, kulingana na utafiti uliofanywa na Long Island Community Foundation, ambayo iligundua kwamba nyumba za gharama nafuu zinagharimu asilimia 35 ya mapato yao kwa gharama za nyumba, ambayo ni chini ya gharama za nyumba za kawaida." William Bailey, mratibu wa eneo la Long Island kwa Jumuiya za New York kwa Mabadiliko, alisema kwamba alipiga kambi kwa usiku tatu mnamo 2017 kupinga ubaguzi wa makazi huko Garden City. "Tulifanya mji mwingine wa mahema", alisema Bailey, "na kiasi cha ubaguzi wa rangi ambao nilishambuliwa na... watu walikuwa wakipiga kelele 'enda Trump' kana kwamba hiyo ilitakiwa kunifanya niwe na hatua. Walitupiga kwa mabomu ya n-bomu, mabomu ya f-bomu. "Bailey, ambaye ni mwanafunzi wa chuo kikuu wa Kiafrika-Amerika, alisema kwamba licha ya ukweli kwamba ana kazi, hata yeye hupambana na kupata nyumba ya bei nafuu huko Long Island, sio tu kwa sababu ya bei lakini pia kwa sababu ya jamii yake. """ "Wanatumia maneno kama vile "ujumla wa watu"," alisema. "Watu wenye rangi ya rangi wanapaswa kuamka na kutoka katika enzi yoyote wanayo na kujiunga na 2019,"" alisema mkurugenzi wa Bailey na mkurugenzi wa eneo la Long Island kwa NYCC, Lucas Sanchez." <unk>Kuna ardhi ambayo inaweza kutengenezwa. Wanahitaji tu kuondokana na ubaguzi wa rangi na kujenga nyumba za bei nafuu. "Kwa mujibu wa ripoti ya mwaka huu, ""kwa mwaka 2030 Long Island itakuwa na idadi kubwa ya watu wachache, ambayo ni miaka 10 mapema kuliko eneo lingine lolote nchini.""" "Leo ni bora kuliko jana, lakini bado kuna kazi nyingi ambayo inahitaji kufanywa", alisema Jones. Wawakilishi wa Kamati ya Mipango ya Jiji la Kijiji cha Bustani na Bodi ya Maombi ya Zoning walikataa kutoa maoni.