Security through decommodification: Limited equity cooperatives in the gentrifying city

Limited equity cooperatives (LECs) are a form of affordable homeownership, where someone can buy a home below market rate on the condition that they also resell it below market rate. New York City is home to over 95,000 units of LEC housing, most of which has its origins in the union and tenant movements. Yet as the city has changed, the neighborhoods surrounding these working-class homes have changed, too. We document the changing neighborhood contexts of LECs from 1970 to 2020, finding that gentrification rises around them. Additionally, we provide some of the first systematic estimates of the cost differences between these homes. On average, an LEC unit costs 25% less per month than a unit in a comparable building and has a market value that is 30% lower. We suggest that LECs are a viable policy to prevent exclusionary displacement that inhibits low- and middle-income households from moving into gentrifying neighborhoods.