Young educated workers are fleeing Westchester”™s most exclusive neighborhoods faster than you can say “brain drain,” according to a new housing report.
There is an exodus of adults aged 25 to 34 years old out of the most expensive towns in Westchester and New York City”™s other suburbs, according to a new report from Community Housing Innovations Inc., a fair housing group.
Rye saw the fastest “brain drain” pace, with 63 percent of the 25-34 demographic leaving the community since 2000, according to the report. Over the same time, Pound Ridge lost 58 percent, Lewisboro 54 percent and Scarsdale 52 percent.
Of the 10 communities with the largest change in that age group, all were named in a 2009 housing discrimination settlement with the county. In that settlement, Westchester agreed to build or obtain 750 affordable housing units in some of its most elite ”“ and least racially diverse ”“ communities. Those communities also experienced heavy losses of its 35 to 44 year old demographic.
The report, released Wednesday and written by the group”™s executive director Alexander Roberts, tied the population shift to the price of housing and lack of affordable units in the communities. Roberts, in the report, attributed the lack of affordable housing to zoning that favored larger single-family homes. As the implementation of the 2009 settlement drags on, Westchester County and some of the communities targeted have disagreed that local zoning was exclusionary.
The county”™s more integrated communities, meanwhile, experienced less drastic declines and in some cases actually saw growth in recent years. Peekskill saw an 8 percent increase in the 25-34 age group and White Plains saw a 6 percent increase in that same demographic.
The study used data from the American Community Survey on PolicyMap.com.
Westchester saw a countywide 12.83 percent loss in its 25-34 age group, which was slightly less than Suffolk and Nassau counties, with 12.74 percent and 12.74 percent, respectively.
By community:
Rye
-63 percent (25-34)
-16 percent (35-44)
Pound Ridge
-58 percent (25-34)
-15 percent (35-44)
Lewisboro
-54 percent (25-34)
-36 percent (35-44)Â
Scarsdale
–52 percent (25-34)
-15 percent (35-44)
Somers
-46 percent (25-34)
-21 percent (35-44)
Larchmont
-45 percent (25-34)
-30 percent (35-44)
New Castle
-40 percent (25-34)
-21 percent (35-44)
Yorktown Heights
-36 percent (25-34)
-25 percent (35-44)
Bronxville
-23 percent (25-34)
-28 percent (35-44)
Bedford
-21 percent (25-34)
-18 percent (35-44)
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was updated from its original version in which the countywide population losses of 25-34 year olds in Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk was incorrect The original numbers posted were for the 35-44 age group.
I live in Scarsdale. I do not doubt the accuracy of the hard data, but the subjective commentary on the data is garbage. Scarsdale is suffering a “brain drain”??? The housing in Scarsdale is almost entirely “single family” and yes it can only be afforded by the wealthy or near-wealthy, and with the high taxes (particularly school tax) and high housing prices it only makes sense to move into Scarsdale if you have children and plan to make use of the school system. I am skeptical about there really being an out-flux of 30-34 year olds, because there are a lot of young wealthies with children moving in. As for 25-30 year olds: They probably were living with their parents and if they moved out it is because they reached a point where they could afford to!
Ok, there is a good bit of speculation in what I wrote, but it has got be more in keeping with reality than trying to fashion an argument that there is a “brain drain” out of Scarsdale caused by expensive housing. As for the tie in with the housing “discrimination” settlement: Single family house zoning is not ethnically discriminatory. Period. The end. The people who run HUD for our President should go ply their trade in Russia. Putin will welcome them with open arms.
Robert is correct that we don’t know exactly why young adults 25-34 and 35-44 are leaving Scarsdale as demonstrated by census data. But we have lots of surveys of Millennials and their preferences for rental housing, walkability, and night life. When Robert says,
“As for the tie in with the housing “discrimination†settlement: Single family house zoning is not ethnically discriminatory. ”
Perhaps it is. The New York State Court of Appeals, our state’s highest court, ruled in Gernatt Asphalt v. Town of Sardinia, “A community may not use its police power to maintain the status quo by preventing members of lower and middle socioeconomic groups from establishing residency in the municipality.”
Think about the fact that zoning is a political and not an economic act. If left to the free market, developers would build rental apartments in Scarsdale to meet the demand. But the local zoning board acts like a cartel and will not allow them to be built, which has the impact of keeping out minorities, young workers, seniors and those not in the very highest income brackets. I worked with a group of Scarsdale seniors several years ago that included two former mayors who wanted some affordable housing for themselves, and even THEY failed.
Other court rulings have upheld the validity of the Westchester County Housing Allocation Plan, which assigned Scarsdale a “fair share” allocation of 160 units to meet the County need. In over 20 years, Scarsdale has not provided even one unit of affordable housing (affordable meaning a family of 4 making up to $86,000).
It would not be catastrophic if Scarsdale zoned 3% of their land for affordable rentals or condos, which would more than meet the need and fulfill their duty to the larger community.