north west queens community food assessment 2014

8/10/2019 North West Queens Community Food Assessment 2014

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Northwest Queens

Community Food Assessment 2014


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Northwest Queens Community Food Assessment 2014

Table of Contents

1. Acknowledgements Page 3

2. Executive Summary Page 4

3. Full Report Page 12

a. Introduction to City Harvest and the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative Page 12

b.

The Purpose of the CFA Page 13

c.

CFA Methodology Page 14

d.

Community Profile Page 16

i. Neighborhood History Page 18

ii. Demographic Information Page 20

iii. Community Health Page 25

e.

The Food Retail Environment Page 34i. Supermarkets and Wholesale Stores Page 35

ii. Bodegas Page 37

iii. Farmers Markets Page 39

iv. Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) and the Fresh Food Box Program Page 39

v. Community Gardens Page 40

vi. Street Vendors Page 41

vii. Restaurants Page 41

viii.

Quality as a Measure of Access Page 42

ix.

Mobility as a Measure of Access - Transportation and Walkability Page 44

f. Community-Based Organizations and Emergency Food Providers Page 45

g.

Community Awareness of Nutrition, Diabetes and Obesity: Strengths and Challenges Page 45i. Nutritional Knowledge and Practices Page 46

ii. Challenges: Barriers to Healthy Eating Page 48

iii. Neighborhood Specific Challenges Page 48

iv. Neighborhood Demand for Healthy Food Education Page 49

4. Summary of Findings Page 51

5. Recommendations and Next Steps Page 52

6. Appendices Page 55

a. Appendix A: Data Collection Form for Survey of Community Residents

b. Appendix B: Summary of Results from Community Resident Surveys

c. Appendix C: Community Leader Interview Questions and Responses

d. Appendix D: Emergency Food Providers in Northwest Queens

e.

Appendix E: Census Track Data for Queens Community District 1

f. Appendix F: City Harvest Food Resources Map

g. Appendix G: Concentration of Poverty in Queens Community District 1

h. Appendix H: Addendum: Supporting Documents


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Acknowledgements

This Northwest Queens Community Food Assessment (CFA) was made possible with feedback, time,

and openness from the residents and food advocates of Northwest Queens. We are grateful to all

those who participated in our surveys, interviews, and focus groups for their time and dedication tothe health and well-being of Northwest Queens. Our deepest gratitude goes to the Northwest Queens

community volunteers, whose commitment and dedication was (and is) invaluable. In addition, many

thanksto all the organizations and individuals who were willing to share their time and knowledge for

the sake of this project, including:

Astoria Houses Tenants Association

City Growers

Floating Hospital

Flux Factory

Goodwill of New York, Astoria Hour Children

Jacob Riis Community Center at

Ravenswood

Jacob Riis Community Center at

Queensbridge

Minor Miracles

New York City Coalition Against Hunger

New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)

Office of NYC Council Member Jimmy Van

Bramer

Queens Community Board 1 Reality House

Socrates Sculpture Park

Two Coves Community Garden

Urban Upbound (formerly East River

Development Alliance)

Variety Boys & Girls Club

Zone 126

This CFA has been enriched by a number of publications and studies on Northwest Queens

neighborhoods, includingA Focus on the Future: the Project 126 Report(Elmezzi Foundation, 2009),Food Insecurity in Long Island City (ERDA and NYU Wagner School, 2011), Not Too Big To Fail: 2011

Hunger Survey(New York City Coalition Against Hunger), Measuring the Food Environment in Long

Island City (New York City Coalition Against Hunger, 2010) and the Food Pantry Needs Assessment,

Hour Children, 2012). These reports are referenced throughout and the valuable information cited

greatly contributed to the depth of this neighborhood analysis. The City Harvest staff members and

professionals primarily responsible for the planning and facilitation of this CFA report are Tatiana

Orlov, Manager of Healthy Neighborhoods, Northwest Queens, with support from Kathy Kim, Associate

Director of Healthy Neighborhoods, Erin Butler, Program Coordinator, and Sally Cooper, Director of

Healthy Neighborhoods. Professional writing services, editing and completion of this report were

provided by Alexandra Payne, of Amplify Urban Planning. This CFA is intended as a living document for

the Northwest Queens community, to be used and maintained by future food activists and community-based organizations as an entry point to increasing healthy food access and knowledge in the

neighborhood, and building lasting food security.


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Executive Summary

Now serving New York City for more than 30 years, City Harvest (cityharvest.org) is the world's first

food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the citys hungry men, women and children. This year,

City Harvest will collect 50 million pounds of excess food from all segments of the food industry,

including restaurants, grocers, corporate cafeterias, manufacturers and farms. This food is thendelivered free of charge to more than 500 community food programs throughout New York City using a

fleet of trucks and bikes. City Harvest helps feed the nearly two million New Yorkers who face hunger

each year.

In the last several decades, the nature of hunger across the nation has drastically changed. For many

low-income communities, inadequate food access is increasingly manifested as a lack of access to

affordable nutritious food. Residents in these neighborhoods often lack access to affordable, full

service grocery stores, large farmers markets and fruit and vegetable stands, and have to shop at small

corner stores where healthy foods such as whole grain, low-fat, low-sodium and fresh foods are often

unavailable. When healthy food is available, it is often more expensive than the more easily accessibleunhealthy, processed food. Additionally, the quality of the fresh produce available in store in low-

income communities can very largely-and is perishable. Therefore, households confronted with severe

budget constraints often have to stretch their food budgets by choosing cheap, energy-dense foods.

As a result, food insecure communities are also at high risk for many diet-related illnesses, most

prominently diabetes, and obesity.

To address this new reality, City Harvests Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative (HNI)seeks to improve the

access to and demand for healthy, affordable food in five NYC neighborhoods: the North Shore of

Staten Island; Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn; the South Bronx; Northwest Queens; and Washington

Heights/ Inwood. Economic need is significant, affordable and healthy foods are scarce and rates of

food insecurity, obesity, and other diet-related illness are high in these communities. City Harvest

staffs work with residents, businesses, community groups and organizations to increase access to

emergency food, nutrition education, and healthy retail food choices, partnering to build community

capacity and engagement to create a better food environment for years to come.

Overview of Northwest Queens

Northwest Queens, which is part of Queens Community District 1 (CD1), is comprised of the

neighborhoods of Long Island City, Astoria, parts of Woodside and Rikers Island. Directly across from

midtown Manhattan, this area has long been host to warehouses, trucking and printing firms, and a

handful of communities that historically have little interaction. A surge of high-end residential

development and business development since 9/11 has led to its becoming the most denselypopulated area in Queens, with 191,105 residents in 6.2 miles, or 30,823 people per square mile

(Queens by contrast averages 20,035 residents per square mile). CD1 as a whole appears middle-

income, but in eleven high-density census tracts, 25% or more of residents live at or below the federal


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poverty line, compared to 14% of Queens overall.)1,2 These pockets of high need in CD1 center around

four very large public housing complexes where residents often struggle with food insecurity,

educational attainment, meaningful employment, chronic illness and access to quality healthcare.

Poverty in CD1 perfectly illustrates how New York City health data, which is averaged across large

Community Districts or United Hospital Fund (UHF) Neighborhoods, can inadvertently hide deepersocioeconomic disparities: 24% of families earn $25,000 a year or less, and 24% earn $100,000 or

more.3 As poverty in New York City concentrates geographically, it will be important for communities

and organizations working to improve health to understand and access more finely-tuned data (see

Appendix G).

For this document, the term Northwest Queens is used to describe the area west of 21stStreet

described above. CD1 or District residents will be used when referring to data collected for either

Community District 1, or the similar United Hospital Fund Neighborhood of Long Island City/Astoria.

We believe that the findings from this CFA are largely representative of the concerns of low-income

residents and small businesses throughout the District, including at Woodside Houses, a NYCHA

housing complex in the western corner of the District, and hope that residents, community

organizations and leaders engaged in building a healthier CD1 find it useful.

Common health and economic issues in Northwest Queens

Residents of CD1 struggle with a plethora of unfavorable chronic health issues (including diet-related

diseases) and conditions, the consequences of poverty and a lack of access to quality health care.4

More than one fifth of residents report being in fair or poor health (22%).5 The neighborhood ranks in

the bottom 12 of the 42 UHF Neighborhoods when it comes to disease prevention and access to

medical care.6

District residents have the highest rates of overweight and obesity in Queens at 66%, and struggle withhigh cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes at rates well above more affluent Queens and NYC

neighborhoods. Almost one third of adults in Queens CD1 are obese (28-32%).7 Over a fifth of

elementary and middle school students are obese and 40% of youth are obese or overweight. The

obesity rate in New York City as a whole is 23.6%8.

1U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2005-2009 Estimates. The census tracts are #s 25, 27, 35, 39, 41, 43, 47, 7987, 141, and 163.2Queens County Profile 2013, Jan Vink, Program in Applied Demographics, Cornell Population Center3U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Public Use Microdata Sample File (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008,2009, 2011, 2012); retrieved from American FactFinder;http://factfinder2.census.gov/]4It should be noted that health data is currently not available at the census tract or sub-community level that is the focus of thisreport. In New York City, health data is collected either at the Community District level by the NYC DOHMH or by United HospitalFund Districts (UHF), which often closely align with CDs. UHF Neighborhood # 401 closely overlaps CD1, and is also known asLong Island City/Astoria.5NYC Community Health Survey: EpiQuery:NYC Interactive Health Data. Community Health Survey 20126Ibid.7Ibid.8 http://data.cccnewyork.org/data/map/94/obesity-among-public-elementary-and-middle-school-students#94/a/4/143/9/uhf401,NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of Epidemiology Services, FITNESSGRAMdata (school years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011); unpublished data
http://factfinder2.census.gov/http://factfinder2.census.gov/


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In 2010, over 1.3 million adults in NYC had diabetes,9including an estimated 10% of adults in CD1. 10

The 2012 Food Pantry Needs Assessment, by a local emergency food program, Hour Children,found

that 23% of their participants had diabetes and 48% had hypertension. The high rates of overweight

and obesity noted above foreshadow future increases in diabetes, cancer, hypertension, and other

diet-related illness.11

One out of every three families in Northwest Queens lives at or below the federal poverty level

(33%).12 Children are disproportionately affected: in the eleven high-need census tracts of CD1, 57% of

the children live in poverty, as compared with 30% for CD1, 22% for Queens County13and 31% for New

York City. The majority of families in Northwest Queens live below the NYC self-sufficiency standard,

increasing their reliance on various forms of public benefits14and increasing the likelihood that these

are food-insecure families. It is estimated that 17% of CD1 households are food-insecure,15higher than

Queens (10%)16a situation significantly worsened by a significant lack of local food pantries and soup

kitchens. For example, CD1 has 9 emergency food providers for an estimated 29,000 food insecure

families, and CD12 (Jamaica, Queens) has 72 emergency food providers for an estimated 33,000 food

insecure households. The high rate of poverty and food insecurity among children is also problematic,

as it has been linked to other nutrition, diet-related diseases and other health problems, especially in

children.17

However, despite the alarming health and nutrition crisis in this community, the neighborhoods

geographic and socio-economic isolation often renders their plight invisible to the Community District

at large. Astoria Houses sits on a peninsula in the East River, a 15 minute walk from the nearest full

service supermarket and subway stop. Queensbridge, the largest public housing development in North

America, is boxed in by a Con Edison power plant, a major bridge to Manhattan, a long stretch of

mechanic shops, and a strip of recent hotel development which has, so far, brought little in terms of

increased and affordable fresh food and services for its residents. Only Ravenswood and Woodside

Houses fare better in their proximity to the middle-class residents of Queens CB1, though racial,cultural, and economic differences still keep many isolated in the confines of their New York City

Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments. At community meetings addressing issues for the District

as a whole, concerns of low-income residents are not always represented, and when they are, it is

most often related to the crime rates. When asked where they are from, residents of different NYCHA

houses tend to name their development (Im from Ravenswood), not the neighborhood at large (Im

from Long Island City), demonstrating their confinement to immediate neighborhood right around

them. Northwest Queens is the tale of two cities.

9American Diabetes Association. The high cost of diabetes in New York and New Jersey. Retrieved on September 21, 2013 from:http://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/local-offices/new-york-new-york/cost-of-diabetes-in-ny.html 10http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/datatable26.pdf DOHMH Epi Data Tables, April 2013]11Ibid.12U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2005-2009 Estimates.13Concentrated Poverty in New York City, Citizens Committee for Children of New York (2012), http://www.cccnewyork.org/wp-content/publications/CCCReport.ConcentratedPoverty.April-2012.pdf,downloaded April 2014.14Elmezzi Foundation. (2009) Focus on the Future: The Project 126 Report. p.3615United States Census Bureau, 2010 Census.16 New York City Coalition Against Hunger (2013) Superstorm of Hunger: Lingering Shortfalls Expose a Tale of Two Food Cities 17Feeding America. Physical and Mental Health. Retrieved on September 24, 2013 from: http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/physical-and-mental-health.aspx
http://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/local-offices/new-york-new-york/cost-of-diabetes-in-ny.htmlhttp://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/local-offices/new-york-new-york/cost-of-diabetes-in-ny.htmlhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/datatable26.pdfhttp://www.cccnewyork.org/wp-content/publications/CCCReport.ConcentratedPoverty.April-2012.pdfhttp://www.cccnewyork.org/wp-content/publications/CCCReport.ConcentratedPoverty.April-2012.pdfhttp://www.cccnewyork.org/wp-content/publications/CCCReport.ConcentratedPoverty.April-2012.pdfhttp://www.cccnewyork.org/wp-content/publications/CCCReport.ConcentratedPoverty.April-2012.pdfhttp://www.cccnewyork.org/wp-content/publications/CCCReport.ConcentratedPoverty.April-2012.pdfhttp://www.cccnewyork.org/wp-content/publications/CCCReport.ConcentratedPoverty.April-2012.pdfhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/datatable26.pdfhttp://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/local-offices/new-york-new-york/cost-of-diabetes-in-ny.html


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The Purpose of this CFA

A Community Food Assessment (CFA) is a tool used to map and document the available food access

points and nutrition knowledge in a neighborhood, drawing on the experience of local residents to

identify the strengths and challenges of their local food system and food landscape. City Harvest staff,

volunteers and community partners will use this CFA to inform its Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative(HNI) program in the Northwest Queens community. Our primary goals for the CFA are to:

1) Collect data from and for Northwest Queens leaders and residents in order to understand the

present food landscape and note any changes since we began our Queens Healthy

Neighborhoodsprogram in 2012.

2) Inform local community leaders, residents and stakeholders about the Northwest Queens food

environment and provide resources and direction for further research and action in the area.

3) Strengthen our connections and communication with our HNI community by engaging with

community leaders and residents about their desired changes and visions for the future.

The Northwest Queens CFA was carried out over an 8-month period in 2013. A mixed-methods

approach was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data, including surveys and interviews, and

additional qualitative data was sourced from various other city agencies and non-profit organizations.

A. Environmental Scan

B. Mapping of Food Resources

C. Interviews and Surveys of Food Retail Managers

D. Resident Surveys - from468 area residents administered in the fall of 2013

E. Community Leader Interviews - 10 interviews from community leaders representing a diverse

cross section of organizations involved in food access work throughout Northwest Queens.

The first phase was an environmental scan, including reviewing existing research reports and data onthe neighborhood food environment. This scan guided subsequent work by identifying specific

populations and geographic areas of disproportionately high need. Special effort was made to focus

the study on the residents in and around three NYCHA developments in the area west of 21stStreet:

Astoria Houses, Ravenswood Houses and the Queensbridge Houses, including some additional focus on

children living in this area using specific reports and research to tease out local child deprivation and

needs.

Summary of Findings

A. Healthy food access inequality exists in Northwest Queens due to high prices, poor quality, and

limited retailers in a neighborhood defined by geographic and infrastructural barriers.Based on research, environmental scans and public reports, Northwest Queens has a shortage of

supermarkets, farmers markets and other large wholesale stores, making finding affordable healthy,

foods a challenge. A combination of natural and man-made barriers, such as the East River and 21st

Street, plus limited public transportation further curtail access to food retailers. There are no subway

lines west of 21stStreet in the most northwestern section of CD1, so Astoria Houses residents are

forced to take buses or walk 15 minutes to the nearest train station, the area where most of the food


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retailers are concentrated. The Queensbridge Houses sit on top of a subway stop, but are boxed in by

a Con Edison power plant, the Ed Koch (Queensboro) Bridge, and a major industrial corridor

(automotive shops, equipment supply manufacturers, etc.)

Cost, quality and variety were also described by residents as barriers. Almost half of residents (47%)

reported that neighborhood food was too expensive for them, and 70% reported that they wouldimprove their healthy food consumption if they had more access to affordable prices. Additionally, far

too many local stores cannot or do not accept WIC or SNAP, further limiting the accessibility of fresh

food. Most residents reported that produce was of poor quality and limited in variety; almost half the

population was completely dissatisfied with the produce offered in local stores. There was little

confidence that this could be improved without compromising the low price.

Local bodega owners noted that there wasnt enough fresh produce in the area. Although many

retailers indicated interest in improving their offerings to meet customer needs and wants and to

increase traffic to their stores, few currently provide quality produce or much variety. Many produce

items are highly perishable, making them a risky investment for store owners with small profit margins,

in neighborhoods where there is not much demand. Because of this, many small stores fail to qualify

as WIC (supplementary public food assistance for Women with Children and Infants) establishments as

they do not carry enough healthy choices to be in the program. Stores miss out on valuable traffic, but

more importantly, this limits local access to this important nutritional program for local low-income

pregnant women and mothers.

B. Diet-related diseases are a major issue in the Northwest Queens community, especially for

children.

Northwest Queens has the highest obesity rate among adults in Queens (30.5%), well above the NYC

average of 24.2%. More than one-fifth of local residents report being in fair or poor health (22%).

Currently, 10% of adults live with diabetes, 23% have high blood pressure, 25% high cholesterol, and28% have high blood pressure.

Forty percent of children in Northwest Queens are obese or overweight, slightly above the city-wide

rate of 33.8%.18 A childs risk for obesity greatly increases if one or more parents is overweight or

obese, and/or they live with food insecurity or poverty. According to the New York City Department of

Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH), diabetes is: nearly 70% more common in very high poverty

neighborhoods than in low poverty neighborhoods (12.7% vs. 7.5%),19so its likely that the actual rate

of diabetes among low income residents of Northwest Queens is considerably higher than the District

rate of 10%. These are serious concerns in the concentrated poverty pockets of Northwest Queens,

where 16% of households are food insecure and adults have among the highest obesity rate in Queens.While several local health initiatives target people with diabetes and obesity, these are scattered and

do not meet the growing needs of the community, nor do they serve the large Spanish-speaking

population well.

18https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/prevention/injury_prevention/information_for_action/docs/2013-05_ifa_report.pdf19http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/databrief36.pdf
https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/prevention/injury_prevention/information_for_action/docs/2013-05_ifa_report.pdfhttps://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/prevention/injury_prevention/information_for_action/docs/2013-05_ifa_report.pdfhttps://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/prevention/injury_prevention/information_for_action/docs/2013-05_ifa_report.pdfhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/databrief36.pdfhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/databrief36.pdfhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/databrief36.pdfhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/databrief36.pdfhttps://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/prevention/injury_prevention/information_for_action/docs/2013-05_ifa_report.pdf


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C. Northwest Queens residents are strongly interested in learning more about healthy food and

nutrition, but a diversified approach will be necessary.

Many residents felt that various forms of nutritional education would aid them and their communities

in making healthier diet choices. When asked what would make it easier to eat more produce andmaintain a better diet: 80% said knowing how to shop for and cook with healthier produce. When

asked if people thought things like cooking demos and shopping tours would help, 75% said yes.Common reasons given for not eating healthy food included: not knowing how to prepare it; lack of

time; lack of access to a kitchen; and the perception that healthy food is more expensive and not

accessible to poor people. Discussions with community leaders and individuals revealed that self-

reported bias and a wide misunderstanding about what a healthy diet actually entails has resulted in

an over-reporting of healthy food consumption by individuals in our data.

D. Access to emergency food is inadequate due to a limited number of mostly small food pantries, a

lack of awareness about where emergency food is available, and a lack of awareness about the issue

of food insecurity among service providers.

It is estimated that 16% of CD1 households are food-insecure,20higher than Queens (14%)21and

worsened by a significant lack of local food pantries and soup kitchens. For example, CD1 has 9

emergency food providers for an estimated 29,000 food insecure families, and CD12 (Jamaica, Queens)

has 72 emergency food providers for an estimated 33,000 food insecure households. Many residents

reported getting some or most of their fresh foods from these providers, including the City Harvest

Mobile Markets at the Astoria and Queensbridge Houses. However the existing network of EFPs is

largely invisible to others, with few local community-based organizations (CBOs), residents, or elected

representatives knowledgeable about their whereabouts, services or hours of operation and unaware

of the communitys considerable food insecurity and food access issues. Further, many local

emergency food providers need support and funds for improved infrastructure, technical expertise andhuman capacity to meet demand.

Key Recommendations

Northwest Queens is home to many low-income residents who are not satisfied with the food choices

available to them. The ability to improve and restructure their food landscape is something in which, if

empowered, they can and should play a role. The following recommendations are offered as an

invitation to action. They stem from the data collected for this CFA, as well as conversations with

residents and neighborhood leaders about the findings and data within this report.

1) Build awareness about the degree of food insecurity in the neighborhood.Research for this report showed that food insecurity is not immediately identified as a pressing

community issue. Lack of insurance, high rates of poverty and unemployment and health issues

such as obesity and diabetes are much more prominently identified by the community. Many

community leaders identified overarching nutritional issues, and discussed the lack of services

20United States Census Bureau, 2010 Census.21 New York City Coalition Against Hunger (2013) Superstorm of Hunger: Lingering Shortfalls Expose a Tale of Two Food Cities


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and organizations addressing food insecurity in Northwest Queens.

2) Increase awareness about where quality healthy food can be found, and how it can be

affordable.

Although limited and not easily accessible from all areas of the neighborhood, there are currently

some sources of affordable fruits and vegetables. These include food retail outlets, EFPs, farmersmarkets, direct farm to consumer programs, and large retailers, notably Costco, on the western

edge of the area. A greater effort needs to be made to connect residents with the resources

available, while advocacy efforts focus on the need to further increase access to healthy food

outlets. Steps should be taken to increase partnerships with the few local clinics, the WIC center,

and local employers to facilitate local knowledge about current food availability and expanded

availability in the future.

3) Advocate for the expansion and improvement of food retail outlets (supermarkets, bodegas

and others)

Limited transportation options, geographically concentrated poverty, and areas with insufficient

food retail presence demonstrate the case for Northwest Queens to be designated as a high

supermarket need area by the city, and this should serve as a rallying point for community

members and other health and food advocates. There is a serious need to improve the existing

infrastructure by identifying opportunities for existing businesses to invest in their growth. New

entrepreneurial opportunities can be promoted by highlighting citywide initiatives such as the

FRESH tax incentive program and community involvement in local development efforts.

4) Facilitate communication between residents and store managers to improve local

supermarkets

Food retailers have expressed a general interest in improving healthy food choices for residents.

Local community groups could organize meetings between retailers and community membersabout community desires and needs. These meetings should focus on taking steps to address

food quality issues with stores in an appropriate and realistic way for both owners and local

residents.

5) Increase easy, affordable access to transportation for seniors and disabled residents to fresh

food outlets

Access to public transportation is not easy for many residents in the area, and community

members with limited mobility face additional challenges. Steps should be taken to increase

options for local residents, particularly the senior and disabled populations. Local community

groups could work together to create park-and-ride options to get seniors and local housingresidents to and from supermarkets, and advocate for the expansion of the citys existing Market

Ride Initiative, which provides seniors with free trips to fresh food retailers via school buses.

According to the New York City Department for the Aging, increased transportation for those

with limited mobility has been effective in reducing food access problems.


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6) Increase knowledge and awareness of local emergency food resources among local community

organizations and members, and advocate for growth and capacity building of local EFPs.

Issues of hunger and food insecurity are often not addressed by local health and human service

providers making it difficult for residents to find services. All local social service providers, as well

as educators, elected officials, clinics and neighbors need learn about the existing emergency

food network, how to access and how to support it.

7) Build on existing child service networks to reach more children and leverage additional

resources in support of increased access to healthy food, alleviating food insecurity and

improving nutritional knowledge and confidence.

The great number of children living in poverty in this area need additional services and support,

and programs also need to expand to better address their nutritional needs. Throughout the

data collection process, people called attention to the limited amount of inter-agency

collaboration and service coordination in this neighborhood. Improved coordination and

communication should be leveraged to help promote a broad community conversation about

food-related issues, diet-related illness and improving the local food landscape.


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Northwest Queens Community Food Assessment 2014

Introduction to City Harvest and the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative

Now serving New York City for more than 30 years, City Harvest (cityharvest.org) is the world's first

food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the citys hungry men, women and children. This year,

City Harvest will collect 50 million pounds of excess food from all segments of the food industry,

including restaurants, grocers, corporate cafeterias, manufacturers and farms. This food is delivered

free of charge to more than 500 community food programs throughout New York City using a fleet of

trucks and bikes. City Harvest helps feed the nearly two million New Yorkers who face hunger each

year.

In the last several decades, the nature of hunger in New York City, and indeed across the nation, has

drastically changed. For many of the lowest-income members of the city, inadequate food access is no

longer experienced as a simple deficit of calories (though this remains true for some), but is

increasingly manifested as a lack of access to healthy and nutritious food options. This is due to aconfluence of overlapping factors. Over the years, supermarkets moved out of inner-city locations due

to the urban disadvantage: infrastructure challenges, perceptions that inner-city residents are

unattractive and underfunded shoppers, land procurement costs and development, etc.22 As a result,

many urban residents, especially in low income neighborhoods, lack access to full service supermarkets

and have to shop at smaller corner stores where healthy food choices, such as whole grain, low-fat,

low-sodium and fresh produce are often unavailable. When healthy food is available, it is often more

expensive than processed foods with refined grains, added sugars and increased fat content.

Furthermore, these stores often lack food storage areas, lack of knowledge about handling fresh foods

and end up offering low quality produce unattractive to local shoppers.

Constrained by severe budget challenges, families in low-income neighborhoods often have to stretch

food budgets by purchasing cheap, energy-dense foods. These communities often have more fast food

restaurants, offering largely energy dense, nutrient-poor selections. These issues and other

environmental inequities have created a situation where individuals and households who face food

insecurity and hunger are also at high risk for a plethora of diet-related illnesses, most prominently

cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and obesity.

The Citys Department of Planning (DOP), in their Going to Market Study: New York Citys

Neighborhood Grocery Store and Supermarket Shortage study of 2008, found that the pockets of

Queens examined in this report have either average or below average access to grocery stores. The

area around Queensbridge specifically, suffers from a below average ratio of supermarket square feetper resident and has sparse supermarket and grocery store coverage. Less than one quarter of local

food retailers were found to sell fresh food. However, there is opportunity for improvement. The DOP

also found that the neighborhood has the potential to support at least two additional stores. This

particular are of NW Queens was designated a high-need supermarket zone.

22Pothukuchi, Kameshwari.Attracting Supermarkets to Inner-City Neighborhoods: Economic Development Outside the Box. EconomicDevelopment Quarterly 2005; 19; 232


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To address this, City Harvest expanded our Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative (HNI), a geographically-

focused program that works to improve access and demand for healthy, affordable food in five NYC

neighborhoods: Northwest Queens; the North Shore of Staten Island; Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn;

the South Bronx; and Washington Heights/Inwood, where economic need is significant; healthy and

affordable foods are scarce; and rates of food insecurity and diet-related illness are high. City

Harvests staff works in partnership with local community organizations, businesses and residents toexpand three program platforms: emergency food, nutrition education, and healthy food access, while

simultaneously working to build community capacity, engagement and leadership. We work with

community members to improve access and demand for healthy, affordable food, and expand

community capacity to advocate for and develop a better food environment for years to come.

Specific HNI programs include: our Healthy Retail program (working with local supermarkets, bodegas

and corner stores to offer affordable, quality fresh produce); free distributions of nutrient dense food

through emergency food providers and City Harvests Mobile Markets (bi-monthly open-air produce

distributions); nutrition education (a suite of multi-week courses, cooking demonstrations and

shopping workshops, and a healthy snack and education program for children called Fruit Bowl); and

Community Engagement (growth and support of local food activist groups and networks of community

partnerships working to increase easy, affordable access to delectable fresh produce.)

The Purpose of this CFA

A Community Food Assessment (CFA) is a tool used to document the available food access points and

nutritional knowledge in a target neighborhood. It is a collaborative process which draws on the

experience of local residents to identify the strengths and challenges of their local food system and

food landscape; it explores their perceptions and ongoing interactions with food, health, nutrition, and

hunger as well as cataloging local area food retailers and healthy food sources. By utilizing interviews

with local leaders and business owners, as well as relevant research studies of community health,

dietary habits and demographics, CFAs seek to build a comprehensive picture of healthy food access ina neighborhood and make recommendations for targeted, sustainable solutions to overcome local

obstacles and issues.

Healthy Neighborhoodsstaff and community partners will use this CFA to inform our work in

Northwest Queens. This CFA will support the expansion of current programs and development of new

partnerships and projects, by allowing us and our partners to understand specific local food systems

challenges and opportunities, and determine how future programming can have the greatest impact

on improving access to affordable, healthy food.

Our primary goals for the CFA are:

1) Collect data from and for Northwest Queens leaders and residents in order to understand the

present food landscape.

2) Inform local community leaders, residents and other stakeholders about the Northwest Queens

food environment and provide resources and direction for further research and action in the

area.


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3) Strengthen our community connections and reinforce communications with our HNI

community by engaging with community leaders and residents in dialogue about changes and

visions for the future.

CFA Methodology

The Northwest Queens CFA was carried out over an 8-month period in 2013. A mixed-methodsapproach (environmental scan, food resource map, interviews with food retail managers and

community leaders, and resident surveys) was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Survey

and interview data collection was carried out by City Harvest, with additional qualitative data sourced

from various other city agencies and non-profits, including:

Hour Children

New York City Coalition Against Hunger

The New York City Department of City Planning

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

New York University Wagner School of Public Service

Urban Upbound (formerly known as the East River Development Alliance, or ERDA)

Zone 126 / Elmezzi Foundation

1. Environmental Scan

The environmental scan of the Northwest Queens food landscape took place in the fall of 2013 and

consisted of reviewing research on neighborhood health and nutrition, and data available on the local

food environment. This scan guided subsequent work by identifying specific populations and

geographic areas of disproportionately high need.

Although our Queens Healthy Neighborhood covers all of Community Board 1, our review focused on

the area west of 21stStreet, which includes the Astoria, Ravenswood, and Queensbridge Houses. The

scan indicated that affordable healthy food is severely limited in these areas and average incomes arelow when contrasted with CD1. The border of 21stStreet was chosen as it was identified by local

residents as a busy thoroughfare that acts a semi-physical barrier isolating these communities from the

rest of the District, if only in a mental and emotional sense.

2. Mapping of Food Resources

Working from a geographic dataset provided by the New York City Department of Planning, maps of

neighborhood food resources were created that included locations of supermarkets, corner stores,

bodegas, farmers markets and schools. Accuracy of the data was corroborated in discussion with

colleagues from community-based organizations (CBOs) in Northwest Queens. Some of the resulting

maps are included throughout the document. In addition to City Harvestsown maps, this CFA usesmaps from NYCCAHs environmental scan Measuring the Food Environment in Long Island Citywhich

is included in the CFA as Appendix H.)

3. Interviews and Surveys of Food Retail Managers

In 2010-2011, students from the NYU Wagner School of Public Service worked with a local CBO, ERDA,

and interviewed hundreds of residents, food retailers and others to compile their report: Food


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Insecurity in Long Island City.23 Rather than recreate their process, we have used the results of their

Food Retail Manager Interviews and additional data collected during the CFA process to understand

the views and concerns of local food retailers. While their catchment area was slightly larger than

Northwest Queens, their data is still pertinent for this study.

Thirty local retailers from five large scale supermarkets and 25 smaller stores or bodegas participatedin brief, structured open-ended surveys focused on identifying the type and quality of food available in

the neighborhood and key barriers to selling healthy food. In addition, the NYU researchers conducted

a brief interview with each retailer to gather additional information about delivery schedules, stocking

decisions, shopping trends, attitudes towards customers and acceptance of government assistance

programs. Researchers also performed an overall quality review of each establishment.24 The

researchers also developed and administered a food store survey instrument developed by the USDA

(The Thrifty Food Plan) to look at availability, quality and affordability of food items in local stores.

Additionally researchers interviewed available store managers and performed on-site visual surveys to

back up data.

4. Resident Surveys

Surveys of 468 area residents were administered in the fall of 2013 in a variety of locales surrounding

the Astoria, Queensbridge and Ravenswood Houses, including with clients of the City Harvest Mobile

Market at the Astoria Houses. The 10-minute surveys, which were available in both English and

Spanish, sought to identify the primary food access and nutrition issues affecting the community,

including barriers to affordable healthy food, residents perceptions of neighborhood food outlets, and

their vision for the food landscape of the future. The survey also asked participants to talk about their

relationship with healthy, culturally-appropriate eating, how healthy eating is perceived by their

community, and what affects their eating habits. The survey also looked at what types of interventions

and programs residents felt would be successful for increasing good nutrition in their community. The

data collection form can be found in Appendix A and a summary of findings in Appendix B.

In addition,City Harvest cross referenced research and survey data from NYCCAHs report: Food

Insecurity in Long Island City. Researchers in 2011 interviewed 187 NYCHA residents with long format

(30 people) and short format (157 people) surveys. Long format interviews included open-ended

questions as well as multiple choice questions, and the short format surveys relied more heavily on

multiple-choice and were used at community meetings and other local gatherings and during phone

interviews conducted by ERDA staff (now Urban Upbound.) These surveys asked for information on

the overall community food environment, peoples food preferences and their nutritional knowledge.

5. Community Leader InterviewsWe conducted interviews with 10 community leaders in Northwest Queens. Individuals were

identified through community outreach efforts and meetings with community partners and

23Aloia, Blavatsky, Cole, Plat, and Wolf. Food Insecurity In Long Island City, NYU Wagner 2011. The Wagner report focused solely onthe residents of the housing projects in the area. However, their catchment area extended further to the west to 31stS. This reportuses 21stSt as the western border of the target CFA area.24Ibid.


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represented a diverse cross section of organizations involved in food access work throughout

Northwest Queens.

Interview questions explored food access and nutrition issues affecting the community, including:

barriers to food access for residents and barriers to action for leaders; the interviewees vision for the

neighborhood food landscape; individuals and organizations involved in local food issues; andopportunities for community residents and leaders to engage in the work. Interviews were not

recorded, but detailed notes were taken throughout and summaries were written for each. Appendix I

lists the community leader interviews questions and Appendix J lists who was interviewed.

Community Profile

Community District 1 (CD1), is comprised of the neighborhoods of Long Island City, Astoria, parts of

Woodside and Rikers Island (see Figure 1). The District is bordered by the East River to the north and

west, Queensboro Plaza and the Long Island Rail Road to the south, and Northern Boulevard and the

Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) to the east.

In New York City, most health and poverty data is averaged across either NYC Community Districts or

United Hospital Neighborhoods, which can hide smaller pockets of significant economic and health

disparities within the region. For example, CD1 data shows the area as largely middle-income with

higher than average education than much of NYC. However, income in 11 census tracts is among the

lowest in Queens, with 25% or more of the residents living at or below 100% of federal poverty line.

These tracts (#s 25, 27, 35, 39, 41, 43, 47, 79 87, 141, and 163)25are federally qualified as High Needs

Areas,26and center around four large public housing complexes where residents often struggle with

food insecurity, educational attainment, and meaningful employment and quality healthcare27(see

Appendix E for map.)

Figure 1: Maps of Queens Community District 1 Boundaries and Neighborhoods

25United States Census Bureau 2010 Census.26United States Census Bureau. 2010 Census.27Aloia, Blavatsky, Cole, Plat, and Wolf. Food Insecurity in Long Island City. NYU Wagner. 2011 p.12.


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For this document, the term Northwest

Queens is used to describe the area west of

21stStreet described above. CD1 or

District residents will be used when

referring to data collected for either

Community District 1, or the similar UnitedHospital Fund Neighborhood of Long Island

City/Astoria. We believe that the findings

from this CFA are largely representative of the

concerns of low-income residents and small

businesses throughout the District, including

at Woodside Houses, a NYCHA housing

complex in the western corner of the District,

and hope that residents, community

organizations (see Figure 2: Map of CFA Focus

Area).

While CD1 appears small, it is the most

densely populated area in Queens, with

191,105 residents in 6.2 miles, or 30,823

people per square mile. Queens by contrast

averages 20,035 residents per square mile.

CD1 has a long, rich history of diversity,

commerce and culture. It is home to multiple, varied commercial districts, a strong artistic community

and multiple cultural institutions, such as Socrates Sculpture Park, MOMA PS 1, Institute For

Contemporary Art, the Noguchi Museum, the American Museum of the Moving Image, and the LongIsland City Cultural Alliance to name a few. The area has long been defined by diverse ethnic enclaves,

and a large, sprawling network of public housing complexes.

With close proximity to midtown Manhattan and extensive waterfront property, the area has recently

enjoyed a rapid influx of affluent residents, luxury housing, new industry and commercial retailers.28

This brisk gentrification has done relatively little to improve the lives of residents living in public

housing: new businesses offer services and amenities out of their reach and local health and education

infrastructure has remained unchanged. As their neighbors in new high-rise condominiums or

expanding middle class residential neighborhoods have become more affluent, the majority of NYCHA

residents still live at or below the poverty line, cope with much higher rates of diet-related diseases,and lack easy access to quality health care and education. Though two new developments (slated for

2015-16) in the Astoria Hallets Cove area promise to bring two large supermarkets and other mixed-

income retail to the Astoria peninsula (a geographically isolated and low food access area of the

district), the spillover effects on this new prosperity on residents in Astoria Houses remain to be seen.

Walking through CD1 is a journey through economic extremes.

28Ibid.


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Neighborhood History

Northwest Queens was originally imagined in 1830s by the Roach Brothers as a bucolic retreat for the

upper classes looking to escape Manhattan. This dream was short-lived, as less than 50 years later, the

area was consumed by manufacturing and industry, driving out the well-to-do residents.29 These

industrial sectors30have left the neighborhood with a number of environmental ills, and led the

Environmental Defense Fund to rank Queens among the worst 10% percent of US counties in terms ofexposure to air pollutants.31 Northwest Queens today has a higher density of power plants, MTA

municipal bus garages (five), small industries and warehouses than many NYC residential areas.

Public Housing

Perhaps the most important difference between

Northwest Queens and CD1 is the concentration of

large public housing complexes run by the NYC

Housing Authority, or NYCHA.

Construction of the first housing complex, the

Queensbridge Houses, began in September 1938 on

61 industrial acres surrounded by old factories. As a

result of the previous century of industrial

development, there was little-to-no residential community present in this area, and no community to

to voice any complaints about the location of the houses. When objections were raised, they were

easily brushed aside as the low cost of the land along the East River waterfront was used to justify the

construction site. Queensbridge is well known for being the largest public housing complex in the

country, but perhaps more important for tenants, it was developed under the 1937 Wagner Housing

Act, which stipulated that units be unattractive to middle class families who could be expected to

buy housing in the private market if public options left their needs unfulfilled.32 Small rooms, limited

amenities and elevators that only opened on the 1st, 3rdand 5thfloors were the result in the originalfloor plan.

Initially, most residents were white (1941: 3,907 white families and 52 black families), but this changed

by the late 40s, when Queensbridgeenjoyed a relatively broad racial mix. In 1947, NYCHA moved all

residents with incomes over $3,000 a year to middle income housing outside the neighborhood,33,34

and by 1959, 57% of NYCHA residents were African American and/or Latino. This disruption of the

balanced demographics of the houses, which subsequently changed the demographics in surrounding

29Brooklyn/ Queens Waterfront. Retrieved on Sept 20th, 2013:

https://sites.google.com/site/brooklynqueenswaterfront/neighborhood-histories/ravenswood30Office of the State Deputy Comptroller for the City of New York. Queens: An Economic Review. 2011. p.5 -7.31Elmezzi Foundation. (2009) Focus on the Future: The Project 126 Report. p.28 32Radford, Gail. The Federal Government and Housing During the Great Depression in J.F. Bauman, ed., From Tenements to theTaylor Homes: In Search of Urban Housing Policy in Twentieth Century America, University Park, Penn., Pennsylvania StateUniversity Press, 2000, pp. 102-120.33NYCHA came under pressure from advocates who believed state-subsidized housing should only be for the very poor, and beganevicting tenants whose annual income exceeded $3,000 in 1947. http://project.wnyc.org/nycha-timeline/index.html34Nessen, Stephen. Tuesday, December 18, 2012 . Housing Generations - Life in the Projects: Meet the Alston Family. WNYC News.Online at: http://www.wnyc.org/story/257857-housing-generations-life-projects-meet-alston-family/

The Housing Act of 1937 also set very low

maximum income requirements for public

housing residents. This policy was intended to

alleviate fears that public housing would

compete with the private market, but it

ultimately led to high concentrations of

poverty within public housing projects.Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston, retrieved May, 2014:http://www.bostonfairhousing.org/timeline/

1937-Housing-Act.html
http://www.bostonfairhousing.org/timeline/http://www.bostonfairhousing.org/timeline/http://www.bostonfairhousing.org/timeline/


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areas, led to the growing isolation of low-income people of color in the housing complexes.

Queensbridge Houses are the largest housing development in North America, comprised of 96 unit

buildings with 3,142 units separated into two sections: North (41stSt.) and South (40thSt.)35 It is

officially home to 6,097 residents36who benefit from six inner courtyard recreation areas, several

basketball courts, and nearby Queensbridge Park, all of which provide much-needed recreation space

for the local population. Other local amenities include the Floating Hospital and Jacob Riis SettlementHouse, both at the center of the houses. The residents of Queensbridge are also the only residents in

Northwest Queens who live in close proximity to NYC subway stations, with immediate access to the N-

train (Queensboro Plaza) and the F-Train (21 Street/Queensbridge station).

Similarly, the Ravenswood Houses were once the short-lived site of mansions for the wealthy before

getting converted in the late 1800s into commercial offices for the developing industry in the area.

They were completed in 1951 and named for the land they were built on. Located between 12thand

24thStreets and 34thand 36thAvenues, the complex spans 38 acres and consists of 31 six-story

buildings with a total of 2,167 units and an estimated 4,541 residents.37 The houses themselves are

split by the busy thoroughfare of 21stStreet. The area immediately surrounding the houses remains

predominantly a commercial area; the landscape is comprised chiefly by gas stations, mechanic and

automotive shops and other light industry along 21ststreet.38 In 1952 the City Parks Department built

a playground to service the area, which is still maintained by the City and serves as a much needed

recreation space. The houses are also home to a number of other local amenities; the local Queens

Police Department precinct, the Ravenswood Community Center and the Ravenswood Senior Center.

Astoria Houses, the northernmost of

the local NYCHA housing units, was

completed in November of 1951,

consists of 22 buildings (6 -7 stories

high) with 1,102 apartments and 3,135residents.39 The complex is 32 acres,

bordered by 27th Avenue, 8th Street,

Hallets Cove and the East River. Astoria

Houses and its surrounding area is by far the most residential of the three complexes, sharing the

immediate neighborhood with a number of local social institutions; a diversity of faith institutions and

public schools, a Head Start center and Goodwill. The area also enjoys close proximity to Astoria Park

(one of the citys largest public parks) and to a small amount of recreational space; on-site basketball

courts, the Two Coves Community Garden, the Van Alst Playground, and the Goodwill Garden.

35From New York City Housing Authority: NYCHA Housing Developments. Accessed Sept 14, 2013:http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/dev_guide.shtml36From New York City Housing Authority: NYCHA Housing Developments. Accessed Sept 147 2013:http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/dev_guide.shtml37From New York City Housing Authority: NYCHA Housing Developments. Ravenswood. Accessed Sept 14, 2013:http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/queensravenwood.shtml38 From New York City Housing Authority: NYCHA Housing Developments. Ravenswood. Accessed Sept 14, 2013:http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/queensravenwood.shtml39From New York City Housing Authority: NYCHA Housing Developments. Astoria Houses. Accessed Sept 14, 2013:http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/queensastoria.shtml
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/dev_guide.shtmlhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/dev_guide.shtmlhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/dev_guide.shtmlhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/dev_guide.shtmlhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/dev_guide.shtmlhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/dev_guide.shtml


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Demographic Information

Race, Ethnicity, Language and Age

CD1 has a large Caucasian population (45%), higher than Queens and NYC, (33% and 35%

respectively),40a slightly higher Hispanic population (28% vs. 27% for NYC) and a smaller African

American population (6%) than Queens (19%) or NYC. (24%).41 In contrast, the census tracts ofNorthwest Queens are 9% white and most residents are Hispanic (43%) or African American/Black

(39%)42,43 Looking at the three public housing complexes, the demographics shift slightly: African

American (54%) and Hispanic (35%).44

Queens has the highest percentage of foreign-born citizens of any

borough (see Figure 3). More than half of CD1 residents were born

outside the US (51%), more than Queens (46%) or NYC (36%).45 A

large portion of this immigrant community is from Latin America (35-

43%). According to the 2010 US Census, Latino immigrants have the

largest households, are least likely to be citizens (25%) and least likely

to speak English at home (15%). They are also most likely to work in

service industries, especially food service, and receive some of the

lowest average incomes.46 This is important because language barriers

can increase the level of poverty, and therefore hunger, experienced in a home.

Figure 4 below illustrates linguistic isolation across Northwest Queens. (Linguistically isolated

households are those in which all adults speak a non-English language and have difficulty with English).

By examining the dark purple areas, its clear thatNorthwest Queens is more linguistically isolated than

CD1, pointing to the possibility of an even higher portion of foreign residents. Of note, people in CD1

are more likely to be middle-aged than in Queens and New York City overall. Forty-one percent of the

population is 25-44 years of age and 11% are 65 or older.47 While this puts many people in thepopulation squarely in the center of the average workforce demographic, it also means that most are

too old to fall under youth or child status for benefits, but not yet old enough to begin receiving

assistance as seniors from public sources. When hardship occurs, a large portion of this population

falls through public safety net programming such as Food Stamps, Social Security and Medicare.

40Community Health Profiles: Second Edition - North West Queens, 2006, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene41Community Health Profiles: Second Edition - North West Queens, 2006, New York City Department of Health and MentalHygiene42Census tracts 25, 37, 39, 43, 81, 85 and 87 were used, as these tracts made up the majority of the area of the study. Tractscovering little area within the study boundaries were left out. 43From New York City Department of Planning: Community District 1. Accessed Sept 17, 2013:http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/neigh_info/qn01_info.shtml44Aloia, Blavatsky, Cole, Plat, and Wolf. Food Insecurity In Long Island City. NYU Wagner. 2011 p.16 45Community Health Profiles: Second Edition - North West Queens, 2006, New York City Department of Health and MentalHygiene46United States Census Bureau.American Community Survey. Retrieved on September 22, 2013 from:http://www.census.gov/acs/www/#47NYC 2010 Census. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene : https://a816-healthpsi.nyc.gov/SASStoredProcess/guest?_PROGRAM=%2FEpiQuery%2FCensus%2Fcensuscal&year=2010&geo=uhf&agegroup=agegroup
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/neigh_info/qn01_info.shtmlhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/neigh_info/qn01_info.shtmlhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/neigh_info/qn01_info.shtml


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Poverty, Income and Unemployment

The economy of Queens has performed well

over the past several years, and the Borough

is actively working to continue to promote

economic development with a specific focus

on Long Island City, Flushing, and Jamaica.The majority of this work has targeted

manufacturing, aviation, motion pictures, and

retail trade. New York City has also created

additional special programs providing

outreach for minority-owned businesses, of

which nearly one-third citywide are located in

Queens.48 Partially due to these programs,

Queens has added the largest number of jobs

outside of Manhattan, had the smallest

decline in manufacturing jobs and seen a

rapid growth in its service sector over the past

few years.49 While these initiatives have had

a strong impact on specific target areas,

especially Hunters Point in LIC, the benefits

have not reached low-income residents of

Northwest Queens.

CD1 has a similar percentage of residents

living below the poverty level as Queens (16%).50 Thirty percent of residents receive some form of

public assistance, and 28% of residents live alone.51 Further, 80% of residents are renters, as home

ownership rates in CD1 are quite low. One third of all families in the high-need census tracts ofNorthwest Queens live at or below the federal poverty level. Unfortunately, a large layer of additional

residents are also economically frail: according to the 2011 Wagner report, the average mean annual

gross income for Queensbridge North and South, Ravenswood, and Astoria houses was $24,585 in

2009, putting the majority of residents barely above the federal poverty income level of $22,050 for a

family of four in that year. Figure 5 outlines poverty levels and median household income in this area.

The majority of families in Northwest Queens fall below New York Citys self-sufficiency standard

the baseline income necessary to meet a familys basic needs. In Queens, the self-sufficiency standard

for a family with one adult, one preschooler, and one school-age child is $65,943 per year.52

48 Office of the State Deputy Comptroller for the City of New York. Queens: An Economic Review. 2011. p.25 -26.49Office of the State Deputy Comptroller for the City of New York. Queens: An Economic Review . 2011. p.25-26.50Community Health Profiles: Second Edition - North West Queens, 2006, New York City DOHMH51From New York City Department of Planning: Community District 1. Accessed Sept 17, 2013:http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/neigh_info/qn01_info.shtml52United Way of New York. The Self Sufficiency Standard for New York City 2010 Report. Retrieved on March 1 , 2014 from:http://b.3cdn.net/unwaynyc/908cd2240298b9e447_u9m6y7xhb.pdf
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/neigh_info/qn01_info.shtmlhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/neigh_info/qn01_info.shtmlhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/neigh_info/qn01_info.shtml


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According to a recent Elmezzi Foundation survey, one third of Northwest Queens residents have a

household income level below $10,000, and more than half (55%) have a household income below

$20,000.53 The survey results also reveal that the percentage of households with incomes below

$10,000 per year is twice as high for African Americans, Latinos, and Asians as it is for Caucasians.

The rampant poverty within the Northwest Queens area is further highlighted by the rate of school-

level poverty. This is easily illustrated by the rate of students eligible for free or reduced-priced

lunches (FRPL). In CD1, more than 75% of students attending public schools are eligible for FRPLs, with

some schools reaching nearly 100% student eligibility for free or reduced-price lunches.54

Unemployment is a problem that plagues this community. Over the past few decades the economy of

Queens has undergone a shift from manufacturing to service-oriented businesses. Industries such as

transportation, communications, banking, and trade have been significantly restructured, resulting in

employment losses and a lessening of diversities in economic sectors. While as mentioned above,Queens has maintained more economic diversity than other boroughs, and has been the focus of some

major economic development initiatives, specifically in LIC,55these initiatives have failed to enhance

the employment opportunities for the residents in Northwest Queens.

53Elmezzi Foundation. Focus on the Future: The Project 126 Report. 2009. p.13.54Ibid.55Office of the State Deputy Comptroller for the City of New York. Queens: An Economic Review. 2011. p.7.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau; American CommunitySurvey, 2005-2009 Estimates


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As of 2013, unemployment in CD1 is on par with Queens (7%) %56and slightly below NYC (8%).57

However, unemployment among minorities is much higher, especially for African Americans inNew

York: 19% in Q3, 2009.58 As unemployment has risen due to the lingering effects of the 2008 recession,

it is important to note that the actual number of unemployed people may be higher, as unemployment

figures only capture residents actively seeking work, not those who have become discouraged and

given up on the search.

Education and Childcare issues

Education is of paramount

importance to the ongoing health

and livelihood of any community.

In CD1, 19% of residents 25 and

older do not have a high school

diploma; well above the national

average of 14%,59but similar to

Queens and NYC (both 20% - see

Table 2 and 2b.) The majority of

residents in Northwest Queens

have neither a college degree nor

high school diploma, as illustrated

by the map in Figure 6 below.

Given that only 9% of children

born into low-income families in

the US today will receive a college

degree (compared to 82% of their

counterparts in the highest income quartile), 60these facts portend poor educational outcomes for

children in Northwest Queens.

The quality of Northwest Queens schools is an enormous issue for the neighborhood and local CBOs

working to improve opportunities for local children, such as the Elmezzi Foundation. Their decision to

create Astoria Houses Promise Neighborhood was launched in large part because fully 75% of third

graders in the area fail the third- grade English/Language Arts exam.61 As test scores are reliable

predictors of success in our educational system,62these children will likely struggle with high school

and beyond.

56Wall Street Journal. New York City Unemployment Rates. Retrieved on Sept 20, 2011 from :http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/st_nyjobs_20091215.html57NY State Department of Labor. Monthly Labor Statistics by Borough: https://labor.ny.gov/stats/nyc/BoroMonth.xls 58Ibid. cite #6559Selected Social Characteristics in the United States, 2010-2012 American Community Survey60Mortensen, Thomas (2010). Bachelors Degree Attainment by Age 24 by Family Income Quartiles, 1970 to2009. Oskalosa, IA:Postsecondary Education Opportunity. Retrieved from: http://www.postsecondary.org/last12/221_1110pg1_16.pdf61Elmezzi Foundation. Focus on the Future: The Project 126 Report.200962Mortensen, Thomas (2010). Bachelors Degree Attainment by Age 24 by Family Income Quartiles, 1970 to 2009 . Oskalosa, IA:Postsecondary Education Opportunity. Retrieved from: http://www.postsecondary.org/last12/221_1110pg1_16.pdf
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Parental involvement greatly increases childhood

educational attainment. In low income areas,

parents are less likely to be involved with

education compared with wealthier parents.63 If

they havent graduated from high school, it lowers

the chance that their children will. Manyhouseholds in Queens public housing are single

parent (28% - 39%), mostly single mothers (97%)

raising children on half the income of a two-parent

household while shouldering twice the

responsibility. Caregivers with limited time and

knowledge of the school system, plus low quality

schools, combine to make it difficult for Northwest

Queens children to graduate, much less succeed in

school.

New York City has the least affordable

childcare, further complicating these

families economic stability. Full-time care

can cost 53% of the total median income of

single parents.64 In Northwest Queens,

3,930 children live below 200% of the

Federal Poverty Level; less than one third of

their childcare needs are met by the

Administration for Childrens Services

(ACS).65 Lack of adequate childcare

translates into future problems, asenvironment and developmental challenges

before age five can impact future success.

For example, the high failure rate on the

third- grade English Language Arts exam66in

Northwest Queens suggests that many children are not prepared to succeed in primary school. As test

scores are reliable predictors of success,67these children will likely struggle with high school and

beyond.

Community Health

Residents in CD1 struggle against a plethora of unfavorable health issues and conditions, primarily

63Herrold, Kathleen, & ODonnell, Kevin. (2008, August). Parent and Family Involvement in Education, 200607 School Year, Fromthe National Household Education Surveys Program of 2007: First Look. National Center for Education Statistics. NationalHousehold Education Surveys Program. U.S. Department of Education. September 20, 2013, fromhttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/2008050.pdf64Elmezzi Foundation. Focus on the Future: The Project 126 Report. 2009. p.1265Ibid.66Ibid.67Ibid.

Elmezzi will build a Promise Neighborhood in a

30-block area of Northwest Queens, with a focus

on Astoria Houses an isolated cluster of 22

buildings, which has more than 3,136 residents

in 1,102 rental apartments. Fifty-two percent of

its children are living below federal povertylevels. Median income is $14,710,

unemployment in 2010 was 23%, and 42% of the

adults had not completed high school. The target

area has high crime, high-need indicators, and

lack of access to quality education.

Elmezzi Foundationhttp://173.226.70.152/pn/grantee/zone-126-promise-neighborhood,

downloaded 5/14/14
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from diet-related diseases, lack of insurance and lack of access to quality health care.68 More than

one fifth of CD1 residents report being in fair or poor health.69 The neighborhood ranks in the bottom

10 of 42 United Hospital Fund Neighborhoods when it comes to disease prevention and access to

medical care.70 Children living in low-income, urban communities such as the Northwest Queens area

of CD1 are more likely to experience conditions that adversely affect their health, including: poor

nutrition, fewer opportunities for physical activity and increased exposure to environmental pollutants,thus increasing their incidence of diet and environmentally related diseases.71

While mortality rates in DC1 have dropped 15% over the past 10 years, as in much of New York City,

CD1 still ranks 13thamong 42 neighborhoods in the premature death rate, indicating the fact that many

residents are dying from preventable or treatable illnesses.

Healthcare and Insurance

The ability to access regular, primary health care and a primary care provider are essential factors in

maintaining ones health, preventing illnesses, and identifying and treating health conditions early.

Lack of health insurance is the single biggest obstacle to having a regular source of care, which is the

biggest predictor of quality healthcare (see Figure 9 for comparative rates of health insurance

coverage).

A number of factors contribute to these high numbers. People living below the poverty line, recent

immigrants, and ethnic and racial minorities are far less likely to be insured than others; and in CD1,

38% of those living below the poverty line are uninsured (a substantial portion of whom live in

Northwest Queens).72 Large groups of recent immigrants are ineligible for public health insurance and

government-subsidized programs because of their immigration status.73 Foreign- born residents in this

country are twice as likely to be uninsured as those born in the US (35% vs. 17%).74

Individuals without health insurance are less able to pay for or schedule regular doctor visits75andoften have to use the emergency room to get care,76since emergency rooms are required by law to

offer care regardless of ability to pay (unlike all other venues, such as primary care clinics.) As a result,

uninsured people are likely to go without care when its needed. Getting timely care is a huge issue in

CD1: 88% of CD1 residents report not going for care when they needed it in the past year (the 6th

68It should be noted that the data discussed in the community health section is New York City Community Health Profile data forgreater Northwest Queens, as no data is currently available at the sub-community level detailed in this report.69NYC Community Health Survey: EpiQuery: NYC Interactive Health Data. Community health survey 201270Ibid. cite #7471Ibid.72Urban Institute, & Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (Urban Institute & Kaiser Commission). (2009). TheUninsured: A Primer. Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families. Retrieved September 20,2011, from http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/7451-08.pdf73 Ibid.74Ibid.75A Profile of Uninsured Persons in the United States. (2008) http://www.pfizer.com/files/products/Profile_of_uninsured_persons_in_the_United_States.pdf76Gindi, Cohen and Kirzinger. Emergency Room Use Among Adults Aged 1864: Early Release of Estimates From the NationalHealth Interview Survey, JanuaryJune 2011. Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics:http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/emergency_room_use_january-june_2011.pdf


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highest rate of 42 UHF Neighborhoods).77 Fourteen percent of CD1 residents do not have a regular

doctor,78which has been shown to be a strong predictor of preventive care and decrease in

preventable deaths.

Children from low-income homes have a one in five chance of not having health insurance (19%).79

Health outcomes for children without insurance mirror those of adults: a significantly higher risk ofbecoming obese,

diabetic, and

asthmatic.80 Like

adults, they are less

likely to receive

treatment or

continuity of care to

halt or reverse

treatable illnesses;

therefore, these

issues often plague

them into

adulthood and

contribute to neighborhood-based mortality disparities in New York City.

Heart Disease and High Cholesterol

Heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are correlated to genetics and diet, worsen

other illness, and can cause severe illness and premature death. High blood pressure and high

cholesterol increase the chance of heart disease. About a quarter of CD1 adults have high blood

pressure (24%) and high cholesterol (25%),81(see table 3 for comparison with compared to citywide

rates). Indicative of increased diet-related illness in the area, the heart disease hospitalization rate inCD1 has risen in the past decade, and heart disease is the second leading cause of premature death.82

Obesity, diabetes and food insecurity

Residents in CD1 have higher rates of obesity, high cholesterol, and hypertension than more affluent

neighborhoods in Queens, but on par with Queens and NYC overall (see Table 3 below, note that

Northwest Queensin the table is the same as CD1.) Since many of these diseases are diet-related

and preventable, understanding local obstacles to a healthier diet will be paramount to improving the

health of the area.

77Ibid.78NYC Community Health Survey: EpiQuery:NYC Interactive Health Data. Community health survey 201279A Profile of Uninsured Persons in the United States. (2008) http://www.pfizer.com/files/products/Profile_of_uninsured_persons_in_the_United_States.pdf80Miller, Wilhelmine; Vigdor, Elizabeth Richardson; and Manning, Willard G. (2004). Covering the Uninsured: What Is It Worth?Health Affairs. Retrieved September 19, 2013:http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/early/2004/03/31/hlthaff.w4.157.full.pdf+html81NYC Community Health Survey: EpiQuery:NYC Interactive Health Data. Community health survey 201282Ibid.
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Research has shown that food insecure households are more likely to rate their health as poor, and

often score significantly lower on both physical and mental health indicators than their food-secure

counterparts.83 High rates of food insecurity and lack of quality care provide a potential explanation

for the 22% of the CD1 population that reports being in poor health.84

ObesityObesity can lead to a variety of health problems, including heart disease,

and diabetes. Rates of obesity and diabetes are increasing more rapidly

in New York City than any other city in the US:85New Yorkers gained 10

million pounds between 2006 and 2008 alone.86 The recent increase in

overweight adults in CD1 is worrisome, as studies suggest that many of

these adults become obese in the future.

Despite a recent decrease obesity nationally among young children (age 2-5),87obesity has more than

doubled in slightly older children (age 6-11) and

quadrupled in adolescents (12-19 years) during

the past 30 years.88,89 More locally, in NYC and

Queens, nearly 40% of primary school aged

children (K-8) are overweight (18%)or obese

(20%),90,91,92with the highest rates among

Hispanic and African American children (the

majority of children in Northwest Queens.)

Figure 8 shows a comparison of childhood

obesity in NYC by sex and race.93 It is not

surprising that obesity is also an enormous risk

for children and young adults in CD1, and

specifically in Northwest Queens. Over a fifth of CD1 elementary and middle school students are

83 J. Stuff, P. Case, et al. 2004. Household Food Insecurity is Associated with Adult Health Status. Journal of Nutrition, p. 1.84NYC Community Health Survey: EpiQuery:NYC Interactive Health Data. Community health survey 201285New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH). (2008, March 26). Obesity and Diabetes Rising Faster inNYC Than Nationally. Press Releases. Retrieved Sept 19, 2013, from http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/pr2008/pr022-08.shtml 86Ibid. cite #9387Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012.Journal of the

American Medical Association2014;311(8):806-814.88Ibid.89National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2011: With Special Features on Socioeconomic Status and Health.

Hyattsville, MD; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2012.90Center for Disease Control: Obesity in K8 Students New York City, 200607 to 201011 School Years, Morbidity andMortality Weekly Report (MMWR), December 16, 2011 / 60(49);1673-1678Retrieved March 4, 2014 from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/wk/mm6049.pdf91Egger JR, Konty KJ, Bartley KF, Benson L, Bellino D, Kerker B. Childhood Obesity is a Serious Concern in New York City: HigherLevels of Fitness Associated with Better Academic Performance. NYC Vital Signs 2009, 8(1): 1-4. Retrieved September 19, 2013 from:http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/survey/survey-2009fitnessgram.pdf92The New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens. (September 2013) Community Health Needs Assessment and ImplementationStrategy/Community Service Plan 2013-2017.93Ibid. cite #102

In CD1, over one fourth of

adults are obese (27%),1and another 39% are

overweight:1at 66%, this is

one of the highest rates of

overweight and obese in

the city.
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obese and 40% of youth are obese or overweight.94,95

A childs risk for obesity greatly increases if one or more parent is overweight or obese (66% of adults

in CD1) and/or they live with food insecurity or poverty (60% of children in high need census tracts of

CD1.) Children who are overweight or obese have multiple negative developmental outcomes,

including higher rates of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem as well as a variety of physicalailments.96 A recent CDC study found that increasing breast feeding for newborns leads to less obesity

in toddlers (ages 2-5).97 NYC DOHMH has increased resources to increase in breast feeding rates in

NYC and along with other citywide policies, this may have contributed to a recent decline in childhood

obesity in NYC, especially in middle class areas.98 Programs supporting positive changes in schools and

early childhood practices offer opportunities to curb early childhood obesity.

Diabetes

The increasing prevalence of obesity in the U.S. has

contributed to the epidemic of diabetes. If current trends

continue, 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. will have diabetes by

2050.99 Currently, 25.8 million children and adults in the

United States8.3% of the populationhave diabetes;7

million more are undiagnosed.100 The majority (95%) of

these cases are type-2 diabetes, which is strongly

associated with obesity.

Currently 9.5% of adults in CD1 have diabetes,compared

with Queens (6.3%) and New York City (10.8%). While there is no data for the diabetes rate in

Northwest Queens, studies show that 13.6% of Ne