In Yonkers, 2019 census estimates noted more than two-thirds of homeowners were white, compared to 10.5% Black and 16% Latino. Yet the city was 42% Latino and 18% Black, according to the 2020 census.
Yonkers’ Bailey Initiative guides prospective first-time homebuyers
Anthony Bailey and his Yonkers based Bailey Initiative, guides prospective first-time homebuyers through the process.
Mark Vergari, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
- In 2020, Black people were denied mortgages at a rate of 84% higher than whites, according to data
White people made up less than a third of Yonkers’ population in the 2020 census but were two-thirds of homeowners, according to 2019 census estimates the city uses.
Black people, meanwhile, were just over 10% of homeowners despite accounting for 18% of the city. And although Latinos accounted for 42% of the city in 2020, they were only 16% of homeowners the year prior.
Yonkers isn’t unique.
A new program based in Yonkers aims to address the racial gap in homeownership by supporting first-time homebuyers as they navigate institutions that have discriminated against communities of color, especially Black people.
The Bailey Initiative, a local organization, partnered with the city of Yonkers and PCSB Bank to launch the Homeownership Promotes Equity, or HOPE, program. In late February, the program’s first cohort of eight people finished its four-week course on Zoom. Topics range from budgeting to evaluating credit needed to apply for a mortgage.
Duneshia Griffiths, a 43-year-old banker from Mount Vernon, hopes to eventually own an investment property. However, she plans to pass information from the program to other Black and brown families in her community.
“They don’t necessarily understand that concept of what homeownership can bring for your legacy,” Griffiths said. “Not just for yourself, but for your kids and your kids’ kids.”
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Anthony Bailey, executive director of the Bailey Initiative and a Yonkers resident with a background in social …….
