New Yorkers on the Brink

Most co-op and condo boards are aware of the importance of amassing and managing a healthy reserve fund – a cache of cash that can cover planned capital projects or unexpected repairs. After the recent housing market crash, in fact, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began requiring that co-ops and condos keep a reserve fund equal to 10 percent of their annual income from monthly charges.

Most New Yorkers are now unable to meet this standard. In a new study from the the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD), nearly 60 percent of New Yorkers don’t have enough cash on reserve to cover three months of basic expenses, including housing and food, DNAinfo reports. 

Without enough cash to cover expenses in the event of a disaster or lost job, these New Yorkers are at risk of joining the city’s record population of 60,500 who now spend their nights in homeless shelters.

In the South Bronx neighborhoods of Mott Haven, Hunts Point, Morrisania and Highbridge, according to the ANHD study, at least 75 percent of the residents have virtually no cash reserves.