Park Slopers Live 6 Years Longer Than People In Brownsville, And Other Troubling Stats

Residents of Borough Park have an average life expectancy of 83 years, while their neighbors in Park Slope live to be 80, on average. But just a few miles away, New Yorkers living in Brownsville have an average lifespan of 74, the worst in the city. These grim disparities, and many more, have been brought to light by a new Health Department report on community's health. The first of five, the detailed public health survey focuses on Brooklyn neighborhoods' health disparities, such as:

• Infant mortality: In Brownsville, 8 of every 1,000 infants die before their first birthday, compared to an average 1.6 in Sunset Park, 2.4 in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, and 2.2 in Park Slope and Carroll Gardens.
• Non-fatal assault hospitalizations (per 100,000 population): In Brownsville, the rate of non-fatal victims of violence is 180 out of 100K, the highest in NYC. In East New York, it's 120. In Crown Heights and Prospect Heights, it's 98. In Park Slope and Carroll Gardens, the rate is 32.
• Diabetes: East New York leads here, with 18% of adults afflicted with diabetes, compared to 16% in Crown Heights and Prospect Heights, 8% in Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights, and 7% in Park Slope and Carroll Gardens.
• Teen births (per 1,000 girls ages 15-19): In Brownsville, 38 out of 1,000 teens have been pregnant. In Park Slope and Carroll Gardens, that number is 19. In East New York it's 34; in Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights, the number is 15.
• Child asthma hospitalizations (per 10,000 children ages 5-14): Brownsville had 61 children out of 10,000 hospitalized for asthma, compared with Borough Park, which numbered 6. Greenpoint and Williamsburg had 18, while Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights had a rate of 50. Crown Heights and Prospect Heights was even worse, with 76.

You get the dismaying picture, but feel free to get granular with each neighborhood through the Health Department's website here. The way they've laid out the stats with infographics is very reader-friendly. Later this month they'll release Manhattan's results, followed by the other three boroughs.

"Poor health outcomes tend to cluster in places that people of color call home and where many residents live in poverty," NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said in the report. "Life expectancy in Brownsville, for example, is 11 years shorter than in the Financial District. And this is not because residents of Brownsville are dying of unusual diseases, but because they are dying of the same diseases - mostly heart disease and cancer - at younger ages and at higher rates. This is unfair and avoidable. A person’s health should not be determined by his or her ZIP code."

"Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to understanding the various health challenges facing our neighborhoods,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams added. “I look forward to continued partnership with Commissioner Bassett and DOHMH leadership in translating the data in these reports into effective outreach and locally-based solutions which put public health first in every Brooklyn community."