In 2021, historic legislation was passed to curb displacement from incoming development in neighborhoods across New York City. Local Law 78 required the creation of a data tool created by the Department of City Planning called the Equitable Development Data Explorer, which would provide community-level demographic information to help residents and decision makers understand how vulnerable their communities were to displacement.

It also created a displacement risk map, assessing the real-time risk of displacement of neighborhoods. The legislation also required applicants seeking permission for specific land use actions to create and submit a Racial Equity Report (RER) as part of their application. The RERs provide details on the proposed land use action to the surrounding community and how the project will benefit the community and meet fair housing goals.

This report is a snapshot—a look into where things are now, a few years into the legislation being put into effect. How are community boards, elected officials, and other stakeholders using the reports? How can the data tool and reports be strengthened to ensure they are effective tools for community planning?

Key Findings

An analysis of the types of projects requiring RERs revealed that proposed land use actions vary across the boroughs in concentration of housing units, affordability of housing, and citing of projects in areas considered at risk for displacement.

• 56% of the proposed units are located in The Bronx;
• Less than 30% of the proposed units in The Bronx are classified as affordable;
• Over half of the proposed projects in Brooklyn are in areas with high or highest displacement risk;
• The interviews and researchers’ experiences revealed challenges in using the data tools for evaluating land use decisions;
• No formal training has been provided on how to use EDDE or RERs, making it difficult for community board members to understand the tools;
• RERs are not being presented by applicants or DCP staff to community boards and other stakeholders, discouraging discussion of the report findings;
• Data updates are not frequent enough, limiting the functionality of the EDDE and restricting analysis and access to the most current data.

Recommendations

To ensure the RER and EDDE are promoted as useful tools that are important in evaluating proposed land use actions, Pratt and RISC recommend:

• Department of City Planning (DCP) should incorporate training on the EDDE and RERs into annual land use training for community boards. In partnership with the Civic Engagement Commission, make training available to elected officials, their staff, and the public;
• DCP should require RERs to be presented in-depth to community boards, elected officials, and the City Planning Commission by applicants or City staff to ensure broader discussion. Expanding these presentations can ensure racial equity considerations are meaningfully addressed in the land use process;
• DCP and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development should improve EDDE functionality to allow users to generate data that better fits their needs.