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A "restaurant" with menus from the Bronx and Manhattan Designed to demonstrate the historical basis of food deserts in neighboring boroughs
Historical Timeline of The Causes of Food Deserts in New York City
Historical Timeline of The Causes of Food Deserts in New York City
late 1930s: Home Owner's Loan Corporation (HOLC) begins discriminatingly claiming non-White neighborhoods are risky to lend to, and it becomes hard to obtain mortgages in certain neighborhoods
1950s-70s: middle-class white New Yorkers move to the suburbs via the process of white flight. This drives down demand, home values, and governmental revenue via property taxes
2008: the same neighborhoods which were deemed to be "declining" or "hazardous" by the HOLC are targets for subprime mortgages by lenders. These neighborhoods are gutted by the 2008 crisis.
Throughout all of this, the steady decrease in property values, wage stagnation, and poor economic outlook prevents developers from having any financial incentive to invest in these neighborhoods.
People who live in Manhattan vs Bronx quotes - primary source, experiences grocery shopping Manhattan vs Bronx
People who live in Manhattan vs Bronx quotes - primary source, experiences grocery shopping Manhattan vs Bronx
"many downtown Manhattan residents “have to go to other boroughs or commute an hour to make sure that they can buy [fresh food] with the money that they get from [their benefit] cards”
-Council member Christopher Marte
Kim, Elizabeth. “Food Stamps Don’t Go Far Enough in NYC.” Gothamist, 7 Nov. 2023
“The only affordable store around here is the Family Dollar”
-High Bridge resident in the Bronx
“Bronx Food Deserts: Where Grocery Stores Are Scarce.” THE CITY, 29 Mar. 2021
“I had only seen them [expensive organic product] in Manhattan or Westchester previously… I instantly thought, ‘Oh no, this is the beginning of the end,'"
-Bronx resident
Navarro, Mireya. “In the Bronx, Gentrification Creeps in on Shelves.” The New York Times, 23 July 2021
“A lot of my customers in the Bronx have lost their jobs or are on food stamps,”
“those customers spent their [government subsidies] during the rush last month and now they have to wait for their next benefit check.”
-John Estevez, grocery store owner in the Bronx
Fitzsimmons, Emma G. “Pandemic and Inflation Deepen NYC Food Crisis.” The New York Times, 24 Mar. 2022
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