By The newspaper
Feb 23, 2024, 1:47 PM EST
“Poverty has skyrocketed in New York, and children are the hardest hit. The proportion of NYC residents who could not afford basic services increased dramatically in 2022 and one in four children was living in poverty” that year, he summarized. The New York Timesciting a report from Columbia University and the Robin Hood organization.
Since then the situation may have worsened. The number of people in the five boroughs living in poverty increased from 1.5 million to 2 million between 2021 and 2022, according to the annual Poverty Tracker report. Latino New Yorkers were the most likely to live in poverty in the city and experienced poverty at twice the rate of whites.
For the report, poverty is the inability to cover basic needs such as housing and food. Of New Yorkers living in poverty, 26% identified as Latino, 24% black, 23% Asian and 13% white, he noted. The Hill.
“New York City is not only in crisis when it comes to poverty, but it is also getting worse because of the crisis.”
“The numbers are staggering,” said Richard Buery, CEO of Robin Hood. “What they really show is that New York City is not only in crisis when it comes to poverty, but it is also getting worse because of the crisis.”
“This report shows that it is the largest increase in poverty since Robin Hood began conducting this study 12 years ago,” Buery added, quoted by ABCNews. “There are several causes, but the one we would highlight because it drives much of the work is the expiration of a series of public benefits that the federal government and the state government created during the pandemic to help stabilize families.”
In fact, poverty decreased thanks to tax breaks, stimulus and unemployment checks, and rent forgiveness. Nowadays those checks don’t arrive. Rent is due and more expensive than ever, as is childcare.
- Where will the poor older adults of the Big Apple live given the accelerated pace of rising incomes?
The Robin Hood and Columbia study has not only focused on those who have the least, but also on people who are barely surviving. Thus, around 56% of New Yorkers are below or near the poverty line. “Their lives are very similar to the lives of those who officially live in poverty,” Buery noted. “They are twice as likely to have trouble paying their rent, putting food on the table or paying their bills as the wealthiest New Yorkers; “They are more likely to fall into poverty as a result of some shock in their lives, such as an unanticipated medical bill or a missed paycheck.”
The breakeven point to survive is $88,000 for a family of four in NYC. “If you live in New York and earn less than $88,000 a year for your family of four, you are still likely to face difficult decisions between whether I am going to pay the rent, whether I am going to pay the electric or cell phone bill, or food or going to the doctor when I get sick,” Buery said.
The results of the study can be read in detail here.