Illegal Dwellings Challenged by Ida

Climate change and a failed conversion program threaten the most vulnerable in the city

New York City woke up to eleven casualties in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida last month. In its wake, it rediscovered a historically invisible world of people who live underground, in basement apartments that tend to be small, suffocating spaces with no windows, and low ceilings. Defined by city officials as “illegal dwellings,” they often violate proper safety standards. But they are cheap. 

Climate change is transforming how New Yorkers live, with heavy rains affecting subway stations this summer and heatwaves becoming more and more dangerous each year. It’s these illegal dwellings, though, that have most sharply questioned the worth of this frugal necessity. 

Since 2016, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development has been keeping track of illegal dwelling violations in all five New York City boroughs. The New York Open Data site shows that over the span that this data has been collected, 4,053 violations have been recorded in Queens, making it the borough with the highest number of violations. Many of these violations include cellars and basements being illegally converted into apartments where two or more individuals or families are occupying the space. 

Take Jackson Heights, home to immigrants mainly from Latin America and South Asia, whose vibrancy can be seen the moment you step out of the line 7 train bound to Main St. Over decades, these immigrants have transformed what began in 1909 as the first planned garden community in the United States--a largely segregated utopia--that has become among the most diverse neighborhoods in the city. But beneath the colorful trappings, the flashy signs selling fruit, jewelry, Indian food, or arepas are the many who live there underground. 

Illegal dwellings have been around for decades, but The Department of Housing Preservation and Development and Housing Maintenance Code of New York City has been documenting reported violations and complaints only since 2014. Ineffectual plans have attempted to address the issue, such as the Basement Apartment Conversion Pilot Program, passed in 2019 to provide “eligible homeowners of 1-3 family buildings [...] to convert their basement or cellar in a safe, legal apartment for rental occupancy.” 

The program was set to serve District 5 of Brooklyn, which includes the neighborhoods of East New York, Cypress Hills, Highlight Park, New Lots, City Line, Spring Creek, and Starrett City. The pilot program, approved by Mayor Bill de Blasio, was set to receive $12 million for three operational years, but its budget was cut by 92% due to lack of funding in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and has since been on hold. 

Many non-profit groups have advocated for programs like the basement conversion program or the legalization of these illegal dwellings for decades. One advocacy group, the Chhaya Community Development Corporation, serves the South Indian and Indo-Caribbean communities in Jackson Heights, working since 2008 to bring this issue to light through its “Basement Apartments Safe for Everyone” campaign. 

Homeowners, tenants, and community members joined the effort in hopes of creating equitable and affordable housing, its mission reads/states, of which basement apartments is one of the few options “for many of our communities.” Climate change now poses one of the greatest threats to these efforts. 

On one hand, there is the issue of affordable housing in Queens, exacerbated by a lower concentration of apartments compared to other parts of the city. Overcrowding is quickly becoming an issue in the area. On the other hand, the only cheap option--these illegal dwellings--is proving unsafe. 

Among 16 total victims of Ida, 11 were found in illegal dwellings, including a two-year-old and their parents, a mother of 43, and her son, 22. 

Many advocates argue that the legalization of these dwellings would ensure that dwellings could be regulated, landlords held accountable and safety standards maintained under law. 

In a place like Jackson Heights, legalization would also mitigate the problem of affordability by expanding options in one of the densest neighborhoods in New York. Originally developed as a response to the emerging population density in Manhattan in the early 1900s, the neighborhood was heavily marketed to upper-middle-class professionals and emerging artists. By the 1950s, various emerging groups, including a growing LGBTQA community, South Asian, and Latin American immigrant communities moved to the area, making it the most diverse population in the city. 

Most listings for these apartments can be found on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, flyers taped to lamp posts, or by word of mouth. The latter being the most popular and convenient. This is often how people find the cheapest deal. You cannot find cheap units, which can cap at $300, on StreetEasy. The cheapest option in Queens on StreetEasy when this story was written is a studio, one bathroom unit in Jackson Heights for $1,595. 

But this cheap deal is costing people’s lives. Not only are these dwellings susceptible to fire incidents, but tenants are at risk of drowning. When Ida swept through the streets of NYC, with record-breaking rainfall, five of the six of the basement apartments where people drowned in Queens were illegally occupied. 

Now, many are calling for the city to implement changes that can ensure the safety of people living in these underground spaces. The state assembly has proposed legislation that could legalize these units. But it is not a simple task. Senate Bill S4547, which is currently in committee, aims to, “Provide regulations for the adoption of local ordinances for the creation of accessory dwelling units.” 

Illegal Dwellings would be recognized as Accessory Dwelling Units and with a proper definition in place, there would be protocols to provide, according to their summary, “the inclusion of an accessory dwelling unit in the term housing accommodation in the human rights law.”

Since Ida, there are hopeful potential changes to ensure safe and affordable housing for those who are currently living underground. 

It will take more than just legalizing these underground dwellings to ensure the safety of many individuals and families. Many of them, the immigrants of Jackson Heights and Queens who represent a valuable foundation of the identity of New York City and the neighborhood, deserve equitable forms of living.