At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, epicenter New York City was a shadow of its former self. The streets were empty. Between July 2020 and July 2021, the U.S. Census found the city lost 15.7% of its population. Housing costs dropped and vacancies grew. In January 2021, the median rent for a one bedroom in the city was at its lowest point in years: $2,300 a month.
Dr. Marva M. Craig, vice president for student affairs at BMCC.
But by the end of 2021, rents had jumped 36% and showed no signs of slowing, according to realty website Zumper. Median rents for a one bedroom in Tribeca, where BMCC is located, soared from their low of $3,079 in November 2020 to $5,500 in 2022.
The rising rents have made it increasingly more difficult for BMCC students to live near campus or to even find stable housing. BMCC is a commuter school and has no dormitories of its own. For almost two years after March 2020, New York state placed a moratorium on evictions, and rent increases were frozen in rent-regulated apartments. Those protections are now gone, and Craig said students are looking for assistance as their rents go up and landlords sue those in arrears.
But thanks to a $2 million grant from Trinity Church Wall Street, 40 housing insecure students at BMCC will live at no-cost in apartment-style dorms at City College of New York, a sister school in the City University of New York (CUNY) system. Their rooms and wrap-around support will be financially covered for up to three years.
“It’s very exciting for us, as a community college, especially in New York City, where housing is an issue,” said Craig. “It gives us an opportunity to talk about the community college experience of students and that we have housing needs.”
A 2019 survey of CUNY community college students found that 18% experienced homelessness in the previous year. But housing insecurity impacts students outside of New York as well. A 2022 survey of over 80,000 community college students across the country found that 14% experienced housing insecurity.
