Long Island ranks in the top ten of the most segregated metropolitan areas in the country, according to a study out from Brown University.
The analysis, released in December, also found that black and white integration has rarely changed in more than 10 years across the region.
Former Stony Brook professor John Logan, now at Brown, teamed up with Florida State University’s Brian Stults to analyze racial data from 50 metropolitan regions in the United States. Long Island trailed the nation for racial integration. New York City also got low points for a lack of black/white integration.
“Long Island is only 72 percent white,” said Long. “But you see a lot of areas on the map that are 90 to 95 percent white.
And Long Island is 28 percent minorities — black and Hispanic — but you’ll find a lot of neighborhoods that are up to 70 percent all minority,” he continued. “It shows there is very little integration.”
Nassau and Suffolk county officials say they are addressing the problem through fair housing laws. Suffolk recently passed a law that requires co-op boards to give concrete reasons why they reject applicants. The Long Island Board of Realtors is seeking to pass a similar bill in Nassau.
