SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — A new policy in New York wants to fix how the state’s most vulnerable communities are treated when developers ask for permits. Many of those communities are in Sullivan County.

The state’s newly finalized Disadvantaged Communities (DAC) list includes the villages of Liberty and Monticello and the hamlets of Loch Sheldrake, South Fallsburg, Mountain Dale, Kiamesha Lake, and Mongaup Valley. All localities on the list are listed as part of census tracts, which often include more than one town or village.

While the river towns north of Mongaup Valley did not receive the Disadvantaged Communities designation, they are outliers in some of the individual criteria. For example, the overall environmental burden in the Narrowsburg census tract is slight, with just 3 percent of census tracts having a lighter burden. However, the area’s population vulnerability ranks higher than 52 percent of all census tracts in New York. That’s because it takes more time for residents to drive to urgent medical care than it takes residents in nearly other census tract in the state, a burden other river towns share. 

Narrowsburg’s percentages of people with disabilities, of people age 65 and up, and of unemployed people are also very high relative to the rest of the state, while housing vacancies are scarcer than almost anywhere else. The energy poverty/cost burden—when households spend a disproportionately large portion of their income on energy bills—is also extremely high. (For more data, see below or visit the Climate Act website. 

Population and risk

New York’s Climate Justice Working Group (CJWG) came up with criteria last March to identify the communities bearing disproportionate burdens. They include households with incomes at or below 60 percent of the state median income, or households otherwise eligible for low-income programs. The communities are organized into two broad categories of vulnerability: One looks at population and includes subcategories on poverty, health, income, housing and communications, and race/ethnicity. The other details environmental burdens and climate change risk, with subcategories including land use and historic discrimination and pollution exposure.

The CJWG says it will review the criteria every year. 

Goal: Cutting emissions 40 percent

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) drew up the policy, titled Permitting and Disadvantaged Communities, to enact the environmental justice provisions in New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. This law, passed in 2019, requires that all state agencies protect disadvantaged communities from bearing disproportionate climate burdens.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state will prioritize reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and co-pollutants whenever it issues permits, licenses, and other administrative approvals.

The state’s new policy will also direct clean energy projects to these communities. 

Hochul has also signed environmental justice legislation that she says will ensure that existing burdens in disadvantaged communities are considered in environmental decision-making beyond the Climate Act’s requirements. The DEC is updating its regulations, she said.

Hochul said at least 35 percent of clean energy investment benefits, with an ultimate goal of 40 percent, will be directed to disadvantaged communities.

The river towns’ burdens

The numbers provided below refer to the percentage of census tracts statewide with a greater burden. For example, it takes residents in the Lake Huntington census tract longer to drive to urgent care than 99 percent of census tracts statewide. Not all the criteria are provided here; for the complete data visit the criteria page on the Climate Act website at https://climate.ny.gov/resources/disadvantaged-communities-criteria.

Lake Huntington, population 1,430

Environmental burden is higher than 12 percent of census tracts statewide.
Population vulnerability is higher than 45 percent of census tracts statewide.
Driving time to urgent/critical care 99
Housing vacancy rate 99
Percent of homes without internet 72
Energy poverty/cost burden 94
Percentage with disabilities 38
Percentage with adults age 65+ 53
Percentage single-parent households 22
Unemployment rate 85 

Narrowsburg, population 1,367

Environmental burden is higher than 3 percent of census tracts statewide.
Population vulnerability is higher than 52 percent of census tracts statewide.
Driving time to urgent/critical care 99
Housing vacancy rate 98
Percent of homes without internet 58
Energy poverty/cost burden 98
Percentage with disabilities 89
Percentage with adults age 65+ 96
Percentage single-parent households 59
Unemployment rate 92

Eldred, population 2,260

Environmental burden is higher than 13 percent of census tracts statewide.
Population vulnerability is higher than 36 percent of census tracts statewide.
Driving time to urgent/critical care 99
Housing vacancy rate 98
Percent of homes without internet 58
Energy poverty/cost burden 98
Percentage with disabilities 89
Percentage with adults age 65+ 96
Percentage single-parent households 59
Unemployment rate 92

Lumberland (multiple municipalities), population 2,314

Environmental burden is higher than 12 percent of census tracts statewide.
Population vulnerability is higher than 36 percent of census tracts statewide.
Driving time to urgent/critical care 99
Housing vacancy rate 98
Percent of homes without internet 58
Energy poverty/cost burden 94
Percentage with disabilities 55
Percentage with adults age 65+ 96
Percentage single-parent households 39
Unemployment rate 40

Sparrow Bush, population 3,555

Environmental burden is higher than 39 percent of census tracts statewide.
Population vulnerability is higher than 69 percent of census tracts statewide.
Driving time to urgent/critical care 96
Housing vacancy rate 83
Percent of homes without internet 82
Energy poverty/cost burden 98
Percentage with disabilities 94
Percentage with adults age 65+ 64
Percentage single-parent households 12
Unemployment rate 24

Sparrow Bush (multiple municipalities), population 4,187

Environmental burden is higher than 39 percent of census tracts statewide.
Population vulnerability is higher than 69 percent of census tracts statewide.
Driving time to urgent/critical care 99
Housing vacancy rate 67
Percent of homes without internet 66
Energy poverty/cost burden 58
Percentage with disabilities 94
Percentage with adults age 65+ 61
Percentage single-parent households 49
Unemployment rate 78