Suffolk has high eviction case rate: Data analysis

Suffolk County has the fourth-highest rate of eviction lawsuits per rented home of all counties in the state, according to a new analysis by the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

The number of eviction cases filed in both Nassau and Suffolk County last year remained below pre-pandemic levels, the analysis shows. Landlords generally can't evict a tenant — unless the individual doesn't pay rent — for a year after accepting COVID-related rent relief from the government. Given how much assistance has been distributed, eviction filings are unlikely to hit pre-pandemic levels until late 2023 or 2024, according to Michael Wigutow, supervising attorney for Nassau Suffolk Law Services, which represents low-income residents.

Still, the number of cases has started to increase since a moratorium on evictions was lifted in early 2022, with some communities facing a slew of evictions, including Hempstead, Bay Shore and Coram.

Suffolk County, as a whole, generated nearly 7,900 eviction filings in 2022 — enough to account for 8.6% of the 91,800 rented homes in the area, according to the analysis of court data and U.S. Census Bureau data. That’s the same rate seen in Niagara County.

Both regions had the fourth-highest rate of eviction cases per rented home after Rensselaer County, the Bronx and Schenectady County, according to the analysis released last week  by the ILR School Buffalo Co-Lab, which aims to strengthen civic action with academic research and tools. The lab noted that eviction cases are concentrated in low-income communities of color. 

The  Suffolk data excludes courts on the East End and encompasses both residential and commercial eviction cases. The bulk of parties named in the eviction cases — nearly 94% — are people, not businesses, suggesting most of the cases involve residential leases, according to Russell Weaver, director of research at the lab. In 2022, Suffolk landlords sought a median of $1,805 in cases alleging that they were owed rent or other payments, the analysis shows.

Within the county, many cases were filed in ZIP code 11706 in Bay Shore (roughly 450 filings) and ZIP code 11727 in Coram (about 400 filings). The caseload has increased more than 50% in ZIP code 11727 since 2018, growing from nearly 260 filings to more than 400 in 2022, the analysis shows.

The volume of eviction cases in Nassau County remains low compared to 2019, the analysis shows. Despite filings decreasing, one ZIP code in Hempstead — 11550 — was home to roughly 680 or 14% of all 4,700 eviction cases filed in Nassau County last year, according to the data.

Ever since the moratorium was lifted, evictions have been frequent in Hempstead, according to William Bailey, a tenant organizer with New York Communities for Change.

"It's been eviction after eviction after eviction — like someone was just pouring out a cup," Bailey said. 

That part of Hempstead has more apartment buildings than other parts of the county, lawyers for tenants and property owners said.

By Sarina Trangle

sarina.trangle@newsday.comSarinaTrangle

Sarina Trangle covers affordability and cost of living issues and other business topics. She previously worked as an editor and reporter at amNewYork.