Elmhurst, Corona fall behind in new report: Queens Chronicle

The Queens Chronicle published an article about a report about households conditions. He was quoted in the article.

"When it comes to living paycheck to paycheck, living without internet access or living without health insurance, odds are there are more households experiencing those conditions in Elmhurst and Corona than anywhere else in Queens. State Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) said in a Tuesday interview that constantly rising rent prices in his district — where high-end residential development has begun in recent years — leaves many people unable to save or spend much money. “Those numbers sound very accurate,” Peralta said. “You have families trying to make ends meet but rents are skyrocketing out of control. Back in the day, 15 or 20 percent of your income went to rent. But now, we’re seeing cases of working people paying 50, 60 or 70 percent of their income to rent.”

The ANHD’s report bares that out, as 62 percent of units in Elmhurst and Corona are considered rent burdened, tops in the city outside of the Bronx. “How can you save money when you’re living paycheck to paycheck?” Peralta asked. “Once you start struggling, you begin to live in a bubble of borrowing and that’s very dangerous.”