Disadvantaged Communities

The interactive map below identifies areas throughout the State that meet the interim criteria identified for a disadvantaged community as defined by New York State.

Use the map to determine if an address is located in a disadvantaged community. You can either:

1. Enter an address in the search address box
2. Zoom in/out to identify portions of counties, cities, towns, and neighborhoods

The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) requires State agencies, authorities, and entities to direct funding in a manner designed to achieve a goal for disadvantaged communities to receive 40% of overall benefits of spending on clean energy and energy efficiency programs. The Climate Act directs the Climate Justice Working Group to establish criteria for defining disadvantaged communities, however until the criteria is established, New York State has identified interim criteria for disadvantaged communities, which includes communities:

• Located within census block groups that meet the HUD 50% AMI threshold* (see below), that are also located within the DEC Potential Environmental Justice Areas; or
• Located within New York State Opportunity Zones

*HUD 50% Threshold: Top quartile of census block groups in New York, ranked by the percentage of LMI Households in each census block.  LMI Households are defined as households with annual incomes at or below 50% of the Area Median Income of the County or Metro area where the Census Block Group resides.