Abstract

Elderly Tax Foreclosure in Yonkers, a PPGIS Approach
Track: Census and Statistical Data
Authors: Nora Santiago, Bukurije Begai-Bajrami, Laxmi Ramasubramanian, Lucy Zappone

One in every six residents of Yonkers, NY, is over the age of 65, and many lose their home as a result of delinquent property taxes. Due to the overwhelming mortgage crisis, tax foreclosures are often overlooked, as they disproportionately affect the elderly population; most of whom live on fixed-incomes. This case study describes our efforts to better understand, educate and engage the elderly community of Yonkers, while promoting free counseling services available to them using GIS and working in partnership with a community-based nonprofit agency. Specifically, using GIS (1)to locate and spatialize the problems to effectively describe and explain the issues to a wide variety of stakeholders (2)to design a pilot outreach program to connect with spatially dispersed elderly residents presently facing tax liens, as well as those likely to experience these problems in the near future, and (3)to gain community and political advocates for seniors facing tax foreclosure.