SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

How Homeless Shelters Affect Property Values

By Azi Paybarah

It's Wednesday. New York Magazine has a new owner.

Weather: Sunny, with a high in the upper 70s and a gentle breeze.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until Monday (Rosh Hashana).

A shelter was proposed for the old Park Savoy Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.Todd Heisler/The New York Times

The Times's Nikita Stewart writes:

Nothing packs a community meeting like word that Mayor de Blasio wants to open a homeless shelter in a neighborhood. From Tompkinsville in Staten Island to "Billionaires' Row" in Midtown, many residents, especially homeowners, share the same concern: Does being close to a shelter have a negative effect on property values?

The answer is yes. At least in Manhattan.

Your home would most likely sell for less if you live within about two blocks of a shelter, when another shelter is a few more blocks away. The city's Independent Budget Office looked at sales in Manhattan and estimated that in such a situation, a homeowner would get about 24 to 25 percent less for a house or a condominium than for a residence farther from a shelter with no other shelters nearby.

That's the difference between getting $1 million, or getting $750,000.

Residences within 1,000 feet of two or more shelters would sell for an estimated 17 percent less. That situation was most common in Central Harlem, said Doug Turetsky, a spokesman for the budget agency.

The agency analyzed 6,237 sales of Manhattan residences within 1,000 feet of 39 congregate shelters that were open continuously from 2010 through 2018. The agency did not look at hotels and private apartments that the city used temporarily as shelters. Residences included condos and one-, two- and three-family homes. The agency did not look at the value of a residence before a shelter opened.

The analysis found that a residence within 500 feet of an adult shelter would sell for an estimated 7 percent less than a residence 500 feet to 1,000 feet away from an adult shelter. A home within 500 feet of a shelter for families with children would sell for about 6 percent less than a home 500 feet to 1,000 feet away from a shelter for families with children.

The sales price would plunge even more precipitously when a location was compounded by a shelter within 500 feet and at least one other shelter within 1,000 feet, the rough equivalent of about four blocks.

Gale A. Brewer, the Manhattan borough president, requested the recent analysis of shelters. She said she had always been skeptical of Mr. de Blasio's plan to open 90 new shelters over five years as a solution to homelessness.

"He should be focused on bringing his quote unquote affordable housing down to their needs," she said, referring to people living in shelters.

The mayor's office questioned the budget agency's methodology. "The City has a moral and legal obligation to provide shelter for all those who need it," said Avery Cohen, a spokeswoman for Mr. de Blasio, in an emailed statement. "Fulfilling this responsibility means opening quality shelters in every neighborhood across all five boroughs. We remain committed to meeting the needs of our most vulnerable individuals and families."

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The Mini Crossword: Here is today's puzzle.

What we're reading

See the $400 million production studio that Robert De Niro is planning to build in Astoria, Queens. [Astoria Post]

A "5-star" drug rehabilitation facility may open on "Billionaires' Row" in Manhattan. [Bloomberg]

Students, rejoice! The city's public schools will be closed on Dec. 23, which had been scheduled as a regular school day. [PIX11]

Coming up today

The exhibit "Henry Chalfant: Arts vs. Transit, 1977-1987" opens at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. 6:30 p.m. [Free]

As part of the Cooper Union x Climate Week series, join the talk "Because It's 68 Degrees in December: A Conversation With Fia Backström and Gabriela Salazar" at 41 Cooper Square in Manhattan. 7 p.m. [Free with R.S.V.P.]

The authors Maaza Mengiste and Marlon James talk about Ms. Mengiste's book "The Shadow King" at the New York Public Library's main branch in Manhattan. 6:30 p.m. [Free with R.S.V.P.]

— Melissa Guerrero

Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times's culture pages.

And finally: Their fathers died saving lives on 9/11. They're taking up the mantle.

The Times's Anne Barnard reports:

Every year, a handful of people are selected to become New York police officers and firefighters. On Tuesday, a record number of children of slain rescuers joined the Fire Department.

Of the class of 301 trainees graduating as probationary firefighters, 21 are children of men who died in the line of duty. Their ranks include 12 sons and one daughter of firefighters killed on Sept. 11.

It also includes six sons of firefighters or police officers who died of diseases linked to their time working at ground zero; and the sons of a firefighter and a police officer who died on the job.

The siblings Rebecca and Marc Asaro, top, and their father, Carl F. Asaro.

Among them are the siblings Rebecca and Marc Asaro, who have two older brothers in the Fire Department.

The siblings recalled their father, Carl F. Asaro of Battalion 9 in Manhattan. He was a devoted Grateful Dead fan who took them on fishing trips with a seemingly endless number of unofficial Fire Department godfathers and uncles.

"It doesn't feel real," Ms. Asaro said. "My dad sat in this classroom. And my brothers. It brings us all a little closer to our father."

It's Wednesday — you're halfway there.