While much of the city has recovered from the 2008 housing crisis, a disproportionate number black homeowners in southeast Queens are still struggling, according to data analyzed by the Center for New York City Neighborhoods.
“Black homeowners in particular are facing a crushing reality: many often owe more on their mortgages than their property is worth,” the report said.
"For home-owners who bought in the early 2000s, white home values have recovered while black home-owners have lost net wealth in that time," said Leo Goldberg, a senior policy analyst at the Center for New York City Neighborhoods.
The hardest hit area of all is southeast Queens, particularly Jamaica.
“Jamaica is one of the only parts of the city where home values are lower than they were before the recession,” Goldberg said.
The data focuses on areas of the city where the majority of homeowners are black and where more than 10 percent of homes with a mortgage are underwater, meaning value of the loan exceeds the market value of the house. Large swaths of the Bronx and Queens, as well as parts of Staten Island are highlighted.
