Running head: COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
Community Assessment of Borough Park
Nadzeya Lazarev
New York City College of Technology
Dr. Aida Egues
June 13, 2012
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COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
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Community Assessment of Borough Park
The following assessment is the assessment of the community with a zip code 11230,
located within the area of Borough Park.
(1) Community development/services
a. Schools
 5 public schools:
o P.S. 199 Frederick Wachtel, 1100 Elm Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11230,
phone: (718) 339-1422. Grades: PK-5. Student enrollment: 527. Average
student-to-teacher ratio: 11.2.
o P.S. 217 Colonel David Marcus School, 1100 Newkirk Avenue, Brooklyn,
NY 11230, phone: (718) 434-6960. Grades: PK-5. Student Enrollment:
1,285. Average student-to-teacher ratio: 12.9.
o P.S. 99 Isaac Asimov, 1120 East 10th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone:
(718) 338-9201. Grades: PK-8. Student enrollment: 698. Average studentto-teacher ratio: 13.8.
o Edward R. Murrow High School, 1600 Avenue L, Brooklyn, NY 11230,
phone: (718) 258-9283. Grades: 9-12. Student enrollment: 7,609. Average
student-to-teacher ratio: 40.6.
o Brooklyn Dreams Charter School, 259 Parkville Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
11230, phone: (718) 859-8400. Grades: K-4. Student enrollment: 248.
Average student-to-teacher ratio: 12.
 22 private schools:
o St. Rose of Lima Elementary School, 259 Parkville Avenue, Brooklyn,
NY 11230, phone: (718) 434-1739. Grades: PK-8. Student enrollment:
141. Average student-to teacher ratio: 12.
o Lubavitcher School Chabad, 841 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11230,
phone: (718) 434-0795. Grades: PK-8. Student enrollment: 184. Average
student-to-teacher ratio: 10.
o Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School, 1609 Avenue J,
Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718) 377-1100. Grades: 9-12. Student
enrollment: 706. Average student-to-teacher ratio: 10.
b. Type of schools
 16 elementary schools (grades: PK-5)
 9 middle schools (grades: 6-8)
 8 high schools (grades: 9-12)
 Private schools:
o mostly yeshivas affiliated with Jewish religion
o two schools affiliated with Roman Catholic religion
o one school affiliated with Seventh-Day Adventist religion
c. Types of community groups and places to meet
 Churches
o Catholic Churches:
- St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, 269 Parkville Avenue,
Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718) 434-8040
COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
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St. Brendan’s Catholic Church, 1525 East 12th Street, Brooklyn,
NY 11230, phone: (718) 339-2828
o Latter Day Saint Church:
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1218 Glenwood
Road, Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718) 859-7777
o 7th Day Adventist Church:
- Brooklyn Church SDA Church, 1260 Ocean Avenue, Brooklyn,
NY 11230, phone: (718) 434-2437
o Mosque:
- Muslim Community Center, 1089 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn,
NY 11230, phone: (718) 859-4485
o 8 Synagogues:
- Congregation Beth Torah, 1061 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY
11230, phone: (718) 252-9840
- Jewish Congregation Assemblies, 1410 Coney Island Avenue,
Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718) 253-0974
- Congregation Talmud Torah, 1305 Coney Island Avenue,
Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718) 377-2528
- Sharfman Label Rabbi, 1118 East 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11230,
phone: (718) 253-4579
- Kahanow Ely, 721 Avenue L, Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718)
338-6728
 4 Senior Citizens Centers
o Marien-Heim Tower & Senior Center, 870 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY
11230, phone: (718) 253-7511
o Brookdale Senior Citizen Center, 817 Avenue H, Brooklyn, NY 11230,
phone: (718) 434-8670
 1 public library
o Midwood Branch Library, 975 East 16th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11230,
phone: (718) 252-0967; Sat-Sun: closed; Mon, Wed, Fri: 10:00 am –
6:00 pm; Tue: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm; Thu: 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm
 7 gyms
o Spartan Health Club, 116 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11230,
phone: (718) 434-2300
o Women’s Kosher Gym, 1800 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11230,
phone: (718) 645-0592
 4 parks
o Colonel David Marcus Memorial Playground, Avenue P between East 4th
Street and Ocean Parkway
d. Political offices
 A council member David D. Greenfield, a democrat, represents the 44th Council
District, including Borough Park:
o District office: 4424 16th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11204, phone: (718)8532704
 A council member Sara M. Gonzalez, a democrat, represents the 38th Council
District, including Borough Park:
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COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
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o District office: 5601 5th Avenue S-2, Brooklyn, NY 11220, phone: (718)
439-9012
 An assembly member James F. Brennan represents the 44th Assembly District:
o District offices: 416 7th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215, phone: (718)7887221; 1414 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn, NY 11226, phone: (718)940-0641
e. Community events
 Since the majority of the community is Jewish, many events and celebrations are
religious.
 An important festive day, Shabbat: on every Friday’s evening, the siren makes a
loud sound, heard in the whole Borough Park, three times; after the third sound
Jews are freed from the labor, from Friday’s night to late Saturday’s afternoon
they spend their time with the family, they eat, sing, and pray.
 When receiving the Torah, a synagogue celebrates this event with its community
members by arranging the walk along the streets accompanied by joy religious
music, while Jews are dancing and singing.
 Yard/ garage sales on weekends; advertisements are seen on the posts and/or
placed on the car windshields.
f. Sense of community pride
 Many people unite to each other based on their origin and religion.
 There is no complete sense of community pride among all residents.
 While some streets are very clean and have beautiful landscape gardening, the
others are accumulated with dirt and overgrown with grass.
 On some streets, there is malodorous smell from the garbage kept on the
sidewalks near the buildings.
(2) Environment
a. Air quality
 Air quality: 22 on the scale 0-100 (higher is better). This is based on ozone alert
days and number of pollutants in the air, as reported by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
 Air Quality Index (AQI): 37 on the scale 0-500 (less is better). For the AQI range
0-50, the level of health concern is good.
 Fumes:
o Total Suspended Particulate matter (TSP): 43.4 micrograms/cubic meter
(the value is higher than the U.S. mean, 39.2 micrograms/ cubic meter,
and the New York mean, 39 micrograms/ cubic meter)
o Lead in TSP: 0.04 micrograms/ cubic meter (less than the New York
mean, 0.043 micrograms/ cubic meter, and higher than the U.S. mean,
0.0158 micrograms/ cubic meter)
o Carbon Monoxide (CO): 0.48 ppm (higher that the U.S. mean, 0.34 ppm,
and the New York mean, 0.35 ppm)
o Sulfur Dioxide (SO2): 0.003 ppm (higher than the U.S. mean, 0.0022 ppm,
and the New York mean, 0.0023 ppm)
o Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2): 0.0209 ppm (higher than the U.S. mean, 0.0091
ppm, and the New York mean, 0.0115 ppm)
o Ozone: 0.044 ppm ( less than the U.S. mean, 0.0447 ppm, and higher than
the New York mean, 0.0426 ppm)
COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
b.
c.
d.
e.
o Particulate Matter (PM)10: 17.7 micrograms/ cubic meter ( less than the
U.S. mean, 18.9 micrograms/ cubic meter, and higher than the New York
mean, 15.6 micrograms/ cubic meter)
o Particulate Matter (PM)2.5: 11.5 micrograms/ cubic meter (higher than the
U.S. mean, 9.5 micrograms/ cubic meter, and the New York mean, 8.9
micrograms/ cubic meter)
Boundaries
 The community borders are delineated by 18th Avenue changed to Ditmas
Avenue (after Coney Island Avenue), Avenue P, McDonald Avenue, and Ocean
Avenue in the southwestern part of Brooklyn
 A part of a larger community, Borough Park
Geographies
 The landform: flat ground with elevation from 21ft. above the sea level at the
corner of Avenue P and Ocean Avenue to 48 ft. at the corner of 18th Avenue and
McDonald Avenue
 Land area: 4.748 square kilometers
 Water area: 0.0 sq. km
 Weather
o Annual maximum average temperature: 61.0 ºF
o Annual minimum average temperature: 48.0 ºF
o Average annual precipitation: 42.00”
o Weather index: 90 (U.S. index: 100; higher is better)
 Earthquake index: 107
 Flora and fauna
o Front landscapes, including trees with edible berries and fruits (e.g.,
mulberries, apricots)
o Squirrels running on the ground and climbing on the houses could spread
various diseases
Industrial/factory areas
 Warehouses located along McDonald Avenue and Coney Island Avenue
 Large trucks load and unload cargo on McDonald Avenue and Coney Island
Avenue
4 public parks
 Friends Field, between Avenue L and Avenue M, between East 4th Street and
McDonald Avenue
 Colonel David Marcus Memorial Playground, Avenue P between East 4th Street
and Ocean Parkway
 Kolbert Playground, Avenue L between East 17th and East 18th Streets
 Ocean Parkway Malls, along Ocean Parkway, Park Circle To Coney Island
Concourse (bicycling and greenways)
(3) Health
a. Type of services
 No acute care hospital within the boundaries of the community
 Hospitals near the community:
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o Maimonides Medical Center, 4802 10th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219,
phone: (718) 283-6000. Total number of beds: 711.
o Coney Island Hospital, 2601 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11235,
phone: (718) 616-3000. Total number of beds: 371.
o New York Community Hospital, 2525 Kings Highway, Brooklyn, NY
11229, phone: (718) 692-5300. Total number of beds: 134.
o Beth Israel Medical Center, 3201 Kings Highway, Brooklyn, NY 11234,
phone: (718) 951-9565. Total number of beds: 212.
 Private medical clinics/offices:
o Many specialties, including general practice, internal medicine, pain
medicine, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology,
pediatrics, neurology, obstetrics-gynecology, dentistry, allergy and
immunology
o Hours of operation:
- many offices have flexible hours throughout the week
- may open at 8:00 am and close at 9:00 pm
- most offices closed on Saturday
b. Access to services
 Hospitals:
o Easily accessible by public transportation during the day time
o Between 10:00 pm and 7:00 am, buses have less routes; thus, private
transportation is preferred
 Private medical clinics/offices:
o Geographically distributed throughout the community in a way that may
not require any kind of transportation
o If transportation is necessary, people can take a bus since buses make
more frequent stops during the time interval between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm
(4) Health disparities
a. Top challenges to health
 Causes for premature death:
o According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene (NYDOHMH), “cancer causes the most premature death” with
24% of potential life lost (2006).
o Heart disease is the second highest cause for premature death with 21% of
potential life lost.
 Cancer screening:
o “Women are getting Pap tests for cervical cancer (76%) and mammograms
for breast cancer (73%) at rates well below the Take Care New York
target of at least 85%” (NYDOHMH, 2006).
 Falls among older adults:
o “Hospitalizations for fall-related injuries – particular hip fractures –
among older adults are more common in Borough Park than in Brooklyn
overall” (NYDOHMH, 2006).
o More than 1 in 3 adults over the age of 65 fall each year.
o The rate of hospitalizations due to falls: 1,235 per 100,000 older adults (in
Brooklyn overall 990/100,000)
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o 30% of fall hospitalizations among older adults are for hip fractures.
o The fall-related hip fracture hospitalization rate: 545/100,000 (in Brooklyn
overall 419/100,000)
(5) Housing
a. Age (year house built)
 Built 1939 or earlier: 42.34%
 Built 1940 to 1949: 15.38%
 Built 1950 to 1959: 12.22%
 Built 1960 to 1969: 10.43%
 Built 1970 to 1979: 4.73%
 Built 1980 to 1989: 3.48%
 Built 1990 to 1999: 4.14%
 Built 2000 to 2004: 2.94%
 Built 2005 or later: 4.31%
b. Condition
 Structurally stable: many houses designed/ constructed well and regularly
maintained
 Few ramshackle houses
 Health hardware functions most of the time
 Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities: 6.0%
 Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities: 6.0%
c. Gardens
 Some private houses and few buildings have well-designed and well-maintained
gardens in the front yard
 Most back yards are cemented over
d. Quality
 Many buildings are mixed:
o upper floors for residential use
o lower floors for commercial use and community facilities (e.g., medical
offices/ clinics, stores)
 No recreation areas and benches near the buildings
 Houses are not cramped
 No overcrowded conditions in most houses
 Working elevators in the buildings with 5 and more floors
 Adequate heat, electricity, and water supplies in most houses
 Adequate indoor lighting in most houses:
o sources of natural and artificial light
e. Vacancy
 Total housing units: 36170
o Occupied: 96.53%
- Owner occupied: 27.60%
- Renter occupied: 72.40%
o Vacant: 3.47%
 For sale (resale and new homes): 203 homes
 Recently sold: 119 homes
COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
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Foreclosures (pre-foreclosure, auction, and bank-owned stages of the foreclosure
process): 88 homes
 Open houses: 19
f. Cost
 Average listing price: $454,286 for the week ending May 30, 2012
 Median sales price: $655,000 based on 23 sales from March to May, 2012
 Average price/sqft: $339
(6) People
a. Age
 Median resident age: 34.3 years
 Median male resident age: 32.4 years
 Median female resident age: 35.5 years
 The largest percent of the residents between 0-17 years and 25-44 years
b. Dress
 Orthodox Jews follow their dress code:
o Males: dress conservatively in suits, their heads are covered by a skullcap
or a hat
o Females: dress modestly in blouses with long sleeves and high necklines,
and long skirts; married women wear wigs
 Residents who was born in or have ancestry from the South Asia (India, Pakistan)
follow their traditional dress style:
o Males: wear light-colored pants and a jacket below the knees
o Females: wear colorful saris with plenty of embellishments, or loose
trousers topped by a long loose shirt, and a scarf that covers a head
 Other residents without significant distinction to religion or origin
o Wear casual clean clothes: jeans, skirts, t-shirts, sweaters
o People who are running or jogging dress in sportswear
c. Economic status
 Members of upper class (small percent), middle class (high proportion), and lower
class live in the community
d. Gender
 Males: 48.6%
 Females: 51.4%
e. Languages
 Since about 40 % of the residents are foreign born, the residents speak many
different languages.
 English, Russian, Spanish or Spanish Creole, Hebrew, Yiddish, Urdu, Chinese,
French Creole, and other Asian or Pacific Island languages
f. Population density
 Very high: 43,732 people per square mile
 Total population in 2010: 86,408
g. Race/ethnicity
 High proportion of white population 71.4%
 Asian (13%), Hispanic (9%), African American (8.4%), and other populations
h. Religion
COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
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About 60% of the residents are religious
The residents affiliate with Catholic, Jewish, Islam, LDS, Baptist, and other
Christian religions
i. Socioeconomics
 Income:
o Average Adjusted Gross Income: $48,194
o Median household income in 2010: $45,024 (the New York mean $55,217)
o Average household size: 2.8 people
o 22.5 % of the residents with income below the poverty level (in New York
State 14.4%)
 Education:
o High percent of students enrolled in private elementary and middle (44.4%)
and high schools (42.8%) in comparison to New York
o Educational attainment (%):
- Less than high school: 33.4
- High school or equivalent: 17.5
- Less than one year of college: 4.2
- One or more years of college: 8.5
- Associate degree: 5.6
- Bachelor’s degree: 17
- Master’s degree: 7.6
- Professional school degree: 3.3
- Doctorate degree: 2.9
 Occupation:
o Class of workers (%):
- Employee of private company: 48.9
- Government workers (local, state, federal): 21.2
- Self-employed: 15
o Males have mostly management and professional, sales and office, service,
construction, extraction and maintenance occupations
o Females have management and professional, sales and office, and service
occupations
o More than 40 % of the workers work 35 or more hours per week; about 46%
of the workers have no regular hours
 Cost of living index: very high, 171.8 (U.S. average is 100)
(7) Safety services
a. EMS
 Comprises of Emergency Medical Service agencies from:
o Volunteer sector:
- ALS Services, Inc., 1340 East 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11230
- Chevra Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance Service, 1340 East 9th
Street, Brooklyn, NY 11230
o Proprietary sector:
- Transcare New York Inc. provides the service to the community
residents; location: 5811 Foster Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11234
o Hospital-Based sector:
COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
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Maimonides Medical Center EMS also serves the community;
location: 4802 Tenth Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11219
o Municipal sector:
- New York City Fire Department, Bureau of EMS
- New York Police Department Emergency Services Unit
b. Fire Department
 One FDNY firehouse, Engine 250, located at 126 Foster Ave Brooklyn, NY
11230; open: 24 hours 7 day a week
c. Police Department
 70th precinct of New York Police Department serves the community; location:
154 Lawrence Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718) 851-5511
 Policemen, walking or in a car, constantly monitor streets, respond to complaints
by a phone call in a timely manner, and act quickly during accidents
d. Shelters
 Housing Partners of New York Inc
o 1412 Ave M Suite 2437, Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718) 858-7900
o Non-profit organization
o Provides assistance and services to individuals who are either presently
homeless or who recently obtained housing after being homeless
o Services include assisting the homeless to obtain housing, job training,
mental health, and substance abuse services
 Council of Jewish Organization of Flatbush Inc
o 1550 Coney Island Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718) 377-2900;
hours of operation: Monday-Thursday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; Friday 9:00 am
– 2:00 pm; Sunday by appointment only
o Non-profit organization
o Non-sectarian agency
o Assists all clients whose financial, housing, family, and living situations
have become destabilized
o Provides emergency assistance, crisis intervention, social services,
housing advocacy and assistance, education, job training, job placement,
summer youth employment program, legal services
 Midwood Development Corporation
o 1416 Avenue M, Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718) 376-1098
o Non-profit organization
o Provides housing information and guidance, after school activities for
youth, employment and recreation activities for people developmental
disabilities
 Chen Vchesed Vrachamim Inc
o 1375 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718) 208-4809
o Non-profit organization
o Group home and residential treatment facility (related to mental health)
o Provides mental health, crisis intervention, prevention of alcohol and drug
abuse services
 Dynamite Youth Center
o 1830 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718) 376-7923
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o Provides drug rehabilitation and treatment program and substance abuse
services for drug dependent adolescents and young adults
(8) Shopping/common areas
a. Types of eateries
 Pizzerias, lounges, luncheonettes, bars, cafes, restaurants, bakeries, steakhouses,
ice cream houses
 Cuisines: Russian, Polish, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Mexican, Jewish, Indian,
Pakistanian, Caribbean, and American
b. Stores
 A lot of stores densely concentrated on Coney Island Avenue, Avenue M and
McDonald Avenue
 Category of stores: grocery, clothing, shoe, liquor, electronics, religious goods,
cell phone, video game, toy, stationery, office supply, medical supply, hardware,
electrical supply
 Many 99 cents stores
c. Theatres
 Kent Theatre, 1170 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11230, phone: (718)
338-3371; hours of operation: Mon-Fri 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; Sat-Sun closed
d. Accessibility
 Shopping and common areas are easily accessible for the residents by public or
private transportation, or even on foot
 Easy to navigate through the community since the streets have a numerical and
alphabetical order, and perpendicular sections
e. Cost and prices
 Affordable prices for healthy food products
 Lunch varies from $4 to $8
 Cost of Kosher food is higher than non-Kosher
 Slightly high prices (not affordable for every resident) on clothing and shoes of
European designs
 Since there is a high competition among the stores, there are constant sales and
discounts
(9) Transportation
a. Availability
 Various bus routes passed through the community:
o B6 Bay Parkway/ Avenue J/ Flatlands Ave
o B8 18 Avenue/ Avenue D
o B9 60 Street/ Avenue M
o B11 49 & 50 Streets/ Avenue J
o B49 Ocean avenue/ Bedford & Rogers Avenues
o B68 Coney Island/ Brighton Beach Avenues
o B82 Bay Pkwy/ Kings Hwy/ Flatlands Av
o BM1 Mill Basin - Downtown/Midtown via Church St/Madison Av
o BM3 Sheepshead Bay - Downtown/ Midtown via Church St/ Madison
Avenue
o BM4 Gerritsen Beach - Downtown/ Midtown via Church St/ Madison
Avenue
COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
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Two subway lines passed through the community:
o F train goes on McDonald Avenue (operates between Coney Island/
Manhattan/ Queens)
o B and Q trains go on East 15th Street (operates between Manhattan and
Brighton Beach)
 Buses and trains have frequent stops (every 10 or less minutes) during the day
time between 7:00 am and 10:00 pm
 Buses and trains have less routes during the night time between 11:00 pm and
6:00 am
 Buses and trains are overcrowded at peak hours 7:00am-8:30am and 5:30pm7:30pm
b. Avenues/highways
 No highways
 4 wide two-sided avenues: McDonald Avenue, Ocean Parkway, Coney Island
Avenue, and Ocean Avenue
 Commercial avenues: McDonald and Coney Island Avenues
 Ocean Parkway connected to Prospect Expressway out of the community area
c. Modes of transportation
 Walking
o There are convenient sidewalks and pedestrian crosswalks
 Bicycle
o There are bike paths on Ocean Parkway
 Motorcycle
 Car, truck, or van
 Public transportation
o Subway:
- Used by about 50% of the residents to get to work
o Bus
o Car service
o Taxi service
o Limo service
(10) Overall status of the community
The geographical location does not pose threats and dangers to the health of the
community residents who live in the area with a zip code 11230. There is a small chance of
tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes. The climate conditions rarely influence the
community activities. Long, cold winters, deep winter snows that could immobilize the
community and intense summer heat that could create health problems are not usual
characteristics of the climate. Since most workers of the community are white collars, they
spend less time outdoors decreasing their risk of getting skin cancer. For physical activities, the
community has adequate facilities, including numerous gyms and four public parks. One of the
parks has a wide path for bicycling and greenways for walking.
While air quality index of the community is within the safe range of values, the air
quality based on ozone alert days and number of pollutants in the air, as reported by the EPA, is
below the average national, meaning that it could be a risk factor for lung diseases.
The community is urban. The population of the community consists of diverse people
with various religious, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. The residents of different backgrounds
COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
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have hard time to find common interests and often live isolated from other cultural groups. Since
the density of the population is very high, there are many health care offices, clinics, and shelters
that provide housing assistance and other social services. To serve the high-density community,
there are also numerous stores and eateries that makes control of sanitation practices harder and
more complicated.
Various modes of transportation provide an easy access to work, schools, health clinics
and offices, restaurants, shopping and common areas.
Due to a high competition among grocery stores, prices on food products, including
healthy ones, are not expensive and affordable for the community. Therefore, the residents have
a good opportunity to have a well-balanced diet.
The majority of the residents rent the housing that makes the full impact on the
community transience. People constantly move in and out of the community that undermines its
unity. Due to continuous changes, people do not have enough time to develop a sense of
community pride, and belonging to the community.
(11) Areas of strength and weakness
Strengths
Having different types of schools, the community is interested in children’s education.
Children have a choice of going to public schools or private schools which are affiliated with a
religion. Since more than half of the community residents consider themselves religious, it is
very important to provide religious schools.
The community has various types of places where the residents may meet each other.
There is a wide array of churches, senior citizens centers, gyms, stores, cafes, restaurants, and
other common areas. Many of these places have convenient hours of operation. For example,
many eateries or cafes are open as early as 6:30 am, the time when the residents go to work. A
lot of grocery stores open 24 hours 6-7 days a week (Kosher stores closed from Fridays’
evenings to Saturdays’ late afternoon).
Health services are provided by numerous health offices and clinics in every specialty.
The health offices/ clinics are geographically distributed throughout the community in a way that
may not require any kind of transportation. The health offices and clinics have flexible work
hours: some may be open in early mornings, others in late evenings. The offices are open during
the weekdays as well as the weekends. Even though acute care hospitals are located outside the
community, they are easily accessible by public or private transportation.
The modes of transportation are well-developed. The community is served by ten bus
lines and two subway lines. The roads are easy to navigate due to a numerical and alphabetical
order. The pedestrian crosswalks are clear and friendly to use.
Weaknesses
The community does not have events and celebrations for all residents. There are no joint
health walks or health fairs. There are no neutral events in nature which could allow every
member of the community to join regardless of a religious, cultural, or ethnic background.
Celebrating own events, each cultural group increases the distance between the other groups.
Since there is no strong awareness of others among groups, the community residents are not
willing to participate in joint activities, and the level of the community involvement is below
desirable.
Three out of four public parks have playgrounds for children, but these play areas are
overcrowded. The community has high proportions of children between 0-17 years, and three
COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
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parks do not have enough space for all children of the community. Therefore, many children play
on the sidewalks near the roads. However, playing in undesigned areas poses a potential threat to
children safety.
There are no lakes, seashore, or mountains that could create additional recreational
opportunities for the community and enhance the health and fitness of the residents. Even though
there is a bike path and greenways for walking along Ocean Parkway, not every member of the
community uses this as an advantage because the flow of traffic on Ocean Parkway is heavy with
a high level of noise. Playing with children on the greenways also is unsafe due to heavy traffic.
Two avenues, McDonald and Coney Island Avenues, are busy streets with heavy
commercial activity. There is a high level of noise during the day time. The area of heavy traffic
may be especially dangerous for children and older adults.
The garbage that is kept around some residential buildings gives off a foul smell. The
leaks from the garbage bags remain on the sidewalks; as a result, it worsens a malodorous smell.
Some sidewalks and roads are accumulated with dirt. It seems that nobody has cleaned the streets
for many seasons. Some private houses are overgrown with grass. Even though some parts of the
community are clean with beautiful landscapes, other parts have dirty environment. The
juxtaposition of cleanliness and dirtiness represents lack of the community unity and
involvement.
The residents do not participate in cancer screening, although cancer is the number one
cause for premature death in this community. Women are getting Pap tests for cervical cancer
and mammograms for breast cancer at rates well below the Take Care New York target of at
least 85%. The residents are not aware of the cancer prevalence in their community.
(12) Two ways in which role of the Community Health Nurse may help to maximize the
health of the community
Health education
To educate the community about health-related issues would be the priority for the
Community Health Nurse. Because the community lacks of its unity and the population is
diverse, the Community Health Nurse would need to contact a combination of places, such as
churches, schools, senior citizens centers, etc., in order to encourage all community members to
participate in health teaching programs. All community members, regardless of age, income,
education, religion or ethnicity, should receive comprehensive education about health promotion
and prevention.
The community faces several health challenges, but cancer is the primary cause for
premature death, being the cause of 24% of potential life lost in the area, and heart disease is the
second highest cause with 21% of the lost years. In spite of these alarming numbers, cancer
screening in the area is low. The residents continue to smoke and do not pay attention to their
physical activities and nutrition. Moreover, the appearance of many children in the community
does not look good: some are obese, others are very skinny. Therefore, the Community Health
Nurse needs to educate the residents about well-balanced diet and how to make a healthy food
choice. As seen from the community assessment, the cost of healthy food products is not
expensive in this area; thus, the nurse would not see misunderstanding from the residents while
teaching about eating healthily. The nurse would educate about the importance of physical
activities and encourage going to gyms or parks with a whole family. The nurse would make the
community aware of the cancer and heart disease prevalence in this area and focus his/her
education on getting screened/ tested regularly. In addition, the nurse would provide information
COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
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about quitting smoking, tools to help quit smoking, and places where the quit smoking programs,
patches, or tablets are provided at no cost or at discounted rates.
The nurse would educate the families with young children about children’s growth and
development, and how to keep them safe not only indoors, but also outdoors. For instance, since
many children play on the sidewalks near the roads, the children should be encouraged to always
wear helmets while riding a bicycle, scooter, skateboard, or roller skates or never run for a ball if
it gets to the road and ask for adult help.
Advocacy
The second way to maximize the health of the community is being a community
advocate. The Community Health Nurse would speak and act on the behalf of the community,
explain available services, make adequate referrals, and write letters to appropriate agencies. The
nurse would guide the community to assure that all needs are met. The guidance of the nurse
would be required especially for minorities and people with language barriers.
Due to the community transiency, many residents are not aware of what available
services, where and how they can obtain the services. For instance, the Community Health Nurse
would guide the residents where they can be screened for cancer or tested for heart disease for
free or at discounted rates. If the screenings are performed rarely, the nurse would need to
contact the most influential people in various agencies and departments and bargain them for
allocating more resources for screenings and testing. The nurse would perform further
assessment of the community, communicate with the residents, and identifies other problems; for
example, since there are no shelters for women and children in the community, the nurse would
find out if there is need for a shelter for battered women and/or children in this area.
Addressing the issue of overcrowded playgrounds, the Community Health Nurse would
need to communicate and negotiate well with various local and state authorities to identify
resources and develop additional places where children may play safely.
COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT OF BOROUGH PARK
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