Factors contributing to health concerns

Toxic Release

     Environment free from toxic pollutants is as desirable as it is essential. The buffer zones for the toxic release areas encompass an 800 meter radius. There appears to be a cluster of toxic release areas to the north of Brooklyn. These areas also report high percentage of lead exposure and asthma. It is also true that these same areas have some of the lowest median incomes in Brooklyn. This may be the result of high pollution, caused by toxic release facilities, driving down the cost of rent in the neighborhood, thereby attracting families of low median income. Those who cannot afford the high rents of "non-toxic" neighborhoods, are then subject to increased smoke, disease, and unacceptable living conditions. The toxic releases are emitted from factories, incinators, and other facilities. For a more detailed list click here (Excel file).

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Median Income

     The median income data obtained from the U.S. Census 2000 website, is an accurate indicator of economic status delineated by zip code. It is interesting to note that no Brooklyn zip code is under the median household poverty level of $20,000. When analyzing the data from the U.S. Census, it is important to keep in mind that it is merely the average median income within a zip code. This means that an extremely wealthy enclave encompased by a larger impoverished neighborhood could provide a skewed median income average. For this very reason, in addition to breaking down Kings County into zip codes, the Census data has divided the individual zip codes into smaller areas.

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