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Map: COVID-19 Death Rate In NYCHA Developments Far Outpaces That Of NYC
By
David Cruz
Published May 20, 2020
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Mary Altaffer/AP/Shutterstock
By
David Cruz
Published May 20, 2020
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The death rate from COVID-19 reported at NYCHA complexes is more than twice that of New York City, according to an analysis by Gothamist.
The data, which includes COVID-19 cases and deaths in each NYCHA complex, was released Monday by Mayor Bill de Blasio's office nearly three months after the virus struck Manhattan.
The mayor's office has reported that of the 6,600 confirmed to have contracted the virus at NYCHA, a total of 1,241 have died. That comes out to a fatality rate of 19 percent, compared to 8 percent for the city overall.
About 400,000 are reported as living in NYCHA. Based on the number of confirmed cases, roughly 2 percent of the public housing residents have contracted coronavirus.
Neighborhoods with NYCHA complexes particularly hit hard by the virus include Brownsville in Brooklyn, which saw a total of 266 COVID-19 cases spread across five heavily clustered complexes, resulting in 51 deaths, translating to a 19 percent death rate.
Ninety percent of NYCHA tenants are black or Hispanic, two communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the virus due to the presence of comorbidities such as hypertension, asthma and diabetes.
In some complexes the fatality rate was 50 percent or more, notably in Staten Island, where the development dubbed New Lane Area in New Brighton saw six cases resulting in five deaths, translating to a 83 percent death rate, and Cassidy-Lafayette in Fort Wadsworth that saw eight cases resulting in seven deaths, showing an 88 percent death rate.
Of all the NYCHA developments, Grant Houses in Harlem logged the most deaths, with 22 tenants succumbing to the virus. Following it was Bronx River Houses, which had 21 reported COVID-19 deaths.
Not all complexes recorded a COVID-19 death, particularly in Manhattan where Chelsea-Elliot Houses, Harborview Terrace, and Amsterdam Houses did not see any reported COVID-19 fatalities despite seeing a double-digit number of cases. In eastern Queens, Shelton House, South Jamaica, and Baisely Park Houses did not see any COVID-19 deaths.
On Wednesday, de Blasio said that the city and state had implemented a series of measures at NYCHA complexes, including increased testing sites, distribution of face coverings and free food and a more rigorous cleaning schedule.
"So we know there's been a whole host of initiatives taken to protect people and those will continue and will deepen," he said. "So that's, that's the approach we're taking to protect our residents of public housing."
But even as de Blasio praised the city for its efforts, NYCHA tenants have throughout the crisis spoken about subpar living conditions, ranging from a lack of cooking gas to pending work orders that have been suspended indefinitely.
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David Cruz
David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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