It is no secret that Binghamton University is a huge asset to the Southern Tier, creating hundreds of jobs, bringing engaged students from diverse backgrounds to the community and bolstering hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of economic growth in the region. All this activity is great news for the city of Binghamton and the surrounding areas, which have recently faced economic decline and are home to high poverty rates. However, with all the light the University brings to the region, it also casts a shadow.
This shadow falls over the city’s availability of affordable housing. As students dominate the housing market, rent rises for both students and other residents and severely limits housing options for those who need them most.
Students are generally willing to pay higher rates than other residents, so landlords are given more incentive to exclusively rent and promote to students. According to a 2015 report by CNY Fair Housing, families with children are hit the hardest from this trend. Families are discouraged by high rents and advertising aimed at students, and are sometimes illegally denied the opportunity to live in certain places by landlords.
The 2015 report also indicates that over half of Binghamton renters are “cost burdened” by housing, meaning they spend over 30 percent of their household income on housing costs. A third of renters are “severely cost burdened,” spending over 50 percent of their income on housing. High student demand puts economic pressure on residents and encourages landlords to deny other demographics rent, sometimes illegally.
I sat in on a conversation about this issue with leaders from different community nonprofit groups. They had no shortage of stories about the negative effects of a lack of affordable housing, especially on families with children and the mentally ill. Typically, residents, who often aren’t informed of their rights, can be evicted with only 30 days’ notice to find another option. One community organizer spoke about a man with anxiety who was evicted from his apartment with 30 days’ notice. He lost most of his possessions when he couldn’t find another place to live.
At Roosevelt Elementary School on the North Side of the city, a quarter of the student body changes every year because of relocation of families, which is likely due to difficulty in securing housing. Moving schools is not an easy transition, especially for a child. It seems bitterly ironic that a local child’s education could be disrupted because of a problem caused in part by college students from other areas.
It is time for BU to start considering what part to play in this growing housing crisis. The University is set to expand to 20,000 students by 2020 and to utilize some of the $500 million grant from the Upstate Revitalization Initiative to build more facilities Downtown. If this expansion is not treated with diligence and regard for local residents, its negative effects will intensify.
The shortage of affordable housing is a complex issue; responsibility certainly does not lie solely on the shoulders of the University, nor are students the only cause. This is a problem that the city government, developers, landlords, nonprofit organizations and community members must all take a part in solving.
Yet BU is a major player, as its policies determine student behavior and have a direct impact on the area. If its practices displace and disadvantage people, it has a moral responsibility to fix the way it operates.
The administration has expressed a desire to help revitalize the Southern Tier with the University’s growth; BU will undoubtedly change the region. Amidst these changes, its organizers should ask: will the expansion improve the lives of the most disadvantaged residents, or simply force them out of the area? To choose the latter would be to ignore the needs of people of lower socioeconomic status. Doing so would not be revitalization, it would be gentrification.
While I don’t have the resources to offer a comprehensive solution, I urge the University to step up to the plate and work harder to collaborate with others to find one. If it does not do so soon, these problems will only get worse.
Caleb Schwartz is a freshman double-majoring in environmental studies and political science.