The epidemic of illegal home conversions in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Bensonhurst is causing a school-overcrowding crisis, and the city isn’t taking the issue seriously, locals say.
The practice of subdividing two-family homes to multi-family apartments is bringing more kids to District 20 schools than classrooms can handle, say local leaders. A section of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights with the most 311 complaints of illegal home conversions also has the most overcrowded elementary schools in the district, according to our analysis of school enrollment and 311 complaints within community boards 10 and 11.
The School for Future Leaders, the Ralph A Fabrizio School, PS 127, and PS 176 enrolled at least 1.5 times their stated capacity in 2014, Department of Education data shows. The four elementary schools reside within the same square mile of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights where 311 has received the heaviest concentration of illegal conversion complaints since 2010.
At 171-percent enrollment, Dyker Heights’ PS 176 is the most overcrowded of all of District 20’s 37 schools, and the situation is having a clear, negative impact on kids, local leaders say.
“At PS 176, there’s kids in hallways,” said Community Board 10 District Manager Josephine Beckmann.
The local school zones in District 20 where the Department of Buildings has issued the most illegal conversion violations also tend to have more overcrowded schools, analysis of violations in community boards 10 and 11 shows. The city slapped eight building owners within the area zoned for PS 176 with violations since 2010 — more than areas zoned for other schools, according to city data.
The main driver of both school overcrowding and the illegal home conversions is population growth due to immigration, according to Community Board 10’s education committee chair.
“The No. 1 issue is immigration,” said Bob Hudock. “Bensonhurst is the No. 2 neighborhood in the city for foreign-born immigrants.”
A 2013 report from the Department of City Planning found that Bensonhrust has the second-highest number of foreign-born residents in the city.
A lack of housing forces families into illegally converted homes, and Hudock believes that causes the city underestimate just how big the population boom is, since tenants in illegally converted homes typically try to avoid official notice — skewing the numbers in the city’s census data. Also, landlords who illegally subdivide houses routinely lie to the city about the number of units and occupants, said Hudock, making city records an inaccurate measure of local population in areas with a high rate of illegal conversions.
17 comments:
We could start deporting illegals first to get more room in this city but since the sheeple voted for the illegal lover dumblasio, we now have no choice but to just deal with it. This overcrowding in schools is everywhere in this city.
"A lack of housing forces families into illegally converted homes"
A little dash of Orwell there.
Theres not a neighborhood in Nyc that doesnt have a block with an illegal conversion.
To go even further some neighborhoods are complete illegal conversions such as Corona, Queens.
Now if we could only find who has been destroying thousands of units of housing in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Bensonhurst, we could do something about this.
No? You say that it's not a net loss in housing but a net increase in population?
Well, don't the new jobs in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Bensonhurst increase the tax base?
No? You say that's it's not a net increase in employment but just a net increase in population?
Well, what possibly could be causing people to migrate somewhere where there isn't job creation taking place - as opposed to a place somewhere what there is job creation taking place?
One day, NYC will be an overcrowded society filled with uneducated morons – wait – it already is!
This is a problem in many NYC neighborhoods that have one and two family houses. School district 24 ( LIC, Corona, Ridgewood, Elmhurst, Maspeth, Middle Village,and Glendale) is the most overcrowded in the City. Many schools in the district have been expanded to their physical limits in the past 20 years. How does the City answer the problem... by 20 years of looking the other way on illegal conversions and up-zoning the area. And now to add insult to injury they are dropping homeless warehouses into the area, which adds 200 to 400 new students to an area in one clip.
PS. We lost a Congressional seat so I guess the population must have gone down Not!
My back is really hurting.
Another good NYC neighborhood bites the dust. The stats show that the nighborhoods are mostly white, but those are just the official numbers. And either way, most of the real NY'ers living there are retired and are soon going to bite the dust themselves. I was born and raised in NYC and would love to see it stay the way it was when I was a kid but this immigration issue is not ending. And if it's not that its the pop up homeless shelters that are soon going to ruin what little good areas are left. Which is why I left and am now trying to convince my remaining family to leave to. These people not only bring an alien culture and disease but they reduce property value. So I sold mine before it devalued and haven't looked back since. I just hope the rest of my family does so too before it's too late.
“The No. 1 issue is immigration,” said Bob Hudock.
The No. 1A issue is lack of enforcement by DOB.
But your mayor says the city is no longer going to support the feds in holding and deporting illegals. So why did you all vote for him?
I would like to know the source for the claim that "Bensonhurst is the 2nd most populated immigrant neighborhood." I'd like to see the list, because I find that hard to believe.
Got my answer from the article...
A 2013 report from the Department of City Planning found that Bensonhurst has the second-highest number of foreign-born residents in the city.
There's a link on the Brooklyn paper for this report for anyone that's interested.
ahhhh the joys of overpriced housing fostered by 4% or less mortgages..
i see it here in sunnyside too...illegal conversions after someone paid a sky high price for a house..what idiots..
if you need 3 or 4 rents when its zoned 2 family well dont buy it...
Italian and Greek people always hiring illegals to work in their restaurants...... That has to stop.
If no one hires the illegals they will not be able to pay their bills.
Illegals are not hiring other illegals, are they ?
this is an epidemic that we go over and over as our elected officials busy themselves with their own agenda.
make this their agenda. get after the elected - better yet - hound the electeds. they (and their friends) make money off all the programs for these people so they are going to do squat to stop this.
Perhaps its time to tack on an enforceable illegal development impact fee. $100k per illegal unit.
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