Community health assessment report, Dec 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Sample Characteristics: The characteristics of the sample population are summarized in Table 1. A large proportion of the sample of residents in lower Manhattan evacuated their homes (61%) following the attack on the WTC. Residents in Battery Park City were much more likely to evacuate (96%) than the other areas, due to their close proximity to the WTC site. By the end of October, many of the Battery Park City residents had still not returned to their homes. In both Southbridge and Independence Plaza, fewer households were evacuated, and most of those residents who did evacuate were able to return within two weeks. The sample of adults interviewed for this project ranged in age from 18 to 92. There were some differences between the three neighborhoods. For example. Battery Park City respondents were younger and more likely to be employed at the time of the WTC attack. In contrast, almost 40% of the Southbridge respondents were over 65 years of age, and less than half were employed at the time of the WTC attack.

TABLE 1: Sample Characteristics Battery Park Southbridge Independence City Towers Plaza Total {n=146) (n=167) (n=112) (n°414) Population Estimate 8,000 2,000 2,300 12,300 % of households 66.7% 95.9% 44.0% 60.7% evacuated Mean duration of 14 21 9 9 evacuation (days) Mean # residents per 1.8 1.9 2.0 1.9 occupied household Age of respondents Mean 40.9 58.0 52.7 50.6 Median 39.0 61.5 50.0 49.0 Range 21-82 18-92 20-88 18-92

18-44 years 64.3% 28.4% 28.2% 40.8% 45 - 65 years 32.2% 32.3% 49.1% 36.9% >65 years 3.5% 39.4% 22.7% 22.3% Gender of respondents % Female 51.7% 65.8% 58.0% 58.9% % respondents employed 62.2% 60.4% 78.6% 42.3% at time of attacks

Condition of Homes: Although many households lost utility services following the attack, at the time of our survey, almost all households had functional utility services, including water, electricity, and gas. Phone service was still not returned in some households (19%). Residents of Southbridge were more likely to report they were still without phone service (30% currently without service).

More than half of the respondents indicated that they felt their home was safe to live in (56% in Battery Park City, 68% in Southbridge, and 58% in Independence Plaza). Of those who indicated it was not safe, air quality and surface dust were the primary

Community Needs Assessment 6

NYC-WTC_000150499