Several communities in downtown Syracuse ranked 90 or above in levels of economic distress, on a scale from 0 to 100, nationally from 2012 to 2016, according to a report by the Economic Innovation Group.

The report, which was released last month, assessed the levels of economic well-being of United States ZIP codes. It included a measurement that combined seven factors: adults without a high school diploma, adults not working, poverty rate, housing vacancy rates, median income ratios, changes in employment and changes in business establishments.

Scores revealed that the same central New York communities have remained distressed, and worsened, when compared to data from 2007 to 2011. Based on ZIP codes, five neighborhoods in downtown Syracuse have distress scores higher than 90: 13202, 13203, 13205, 13208 and 13210. ZIP code 13202 had the highest distress score at 98.4 and ranked No. 6 in the state’s overall distress rank. ZIP code 13210 includes the University Hill area.

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Robert Ashford, a Syracuse University College of Law professor, said the report brought necessary attention to the persistent problem of economic distress in the area. The fact that the distress continues to be unevenly distributed along socioeconomic, racial and geographic lines, made worse by unequal educational and other economic opportunities, is also an important takeaway from the report, he added.  

Juhanna Rogers, director of performance for the Economic Inclusion division at business development group CenterState CEO, said that the statistics of distress skyrocket when intersected with communities of color. Syracuse has the highest concentration of poverty among minority communities in the U.S.

“Communities don’t become economically distressed on their own, especially not in a city like Syracuse,” Rogers said. “There are some systemic things happening that are keeping our communities in that kind of distressed position.”

The three main variables measured in the report —the number of jobs, businesses and population — give an ambiguous look, at best, at the distribution of economic prosperity and distress, Ashford said. Looking at the number of jobs without considering the wages, quality and stability associated with those jobs is misleading, he added.

In October, Syracuse’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to a 19-year low at 3.5 percent, which was slightly lower than the New York state rate of 3.6, according to the New York State Department of Labor. Deka Dancil, president of the Urban Jobs Task Force and program director for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Syracuse, said that economic distress and poverty in Syracuse is partly due to a lack of equal access to well-paying jobs as opposed to unemployment.

Someone earning the minimum wage in Syracuse is probably not going to be able to afford a one-bedroom apartment or average living expenses, Dancil said. An annual income of $28,760 is needed to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Onondaga County, according to a report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Full-time workers earning the minimum wage of $10.40 fall short of that necessary annual income needed for basic housing.

“If you bring good-paying jobs back into the city and allow people who live in the city to make some decent money to make a living wage, that will increase our local economy. It’s a no-brainer,” Dancil said.

Dancil said that, while human service agencies have started trying to find solutions, these take the form of initiatives and programs that appear to be tackling the problem but don’t help people become self-sustainable. The initiatives fail to show people how to attain a higher-paying job, learn about financial literacy and reach a higher level of education, she said.

“The perspective or the input of those affected are not taken into consideration when these programs are created,” Dancil said.

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To alleviate economic distress, Dancil said there needs to be more accountability and a reevaluation of programs that are ineffective. She added that it is necessary to introduce cultural competency training for policymakers and leaders and seek the input of those directly affected by economic distress.

Ashford, who teaches a course on inclusive capitalism and democracy in SU’s Reneé Crown Honors Program, said that shifting the focus from the symptoms and trends in economic distress to the underlying causes is important to better understand and address the problem.

Rogers said her division and CenterState CEO challenge those in the community that have and those that are invested in the change to come together to form creative solutions. The critical parts of development for the city and region lie in a community that has been kept out of access and opportunity in relation to business and workforce for a long time, Rogers said.

“I really think Syracuse has a mix of people, a mix of cultures, a mix of difference that can be a beacon of light and culture in central New York,” she said.

Published on November 28, 2018 at 9:45 pm

Contact Carolina: crespina@syr.edu