Ezekiel Edwards
In the Big Apple, Many Aren’t Getting a Bite
What is the quickest way to go from prosperity to poverty? Take a 20-minute subway ride from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to the South Bronx. The zip codes are somewhat similar, but the income levels, opportunities, and qualities of life are oceans apart.
According to the last tally by the Census Bureau, not only you could fill an entire metropolis with the number of New Yorkers living in poverty (1.7 million), it would be the fifth largest city in America!
In recognition of New York's growing poverty rate, Mayor Bloomberg formed the Commission on Economic Opportunity, comprised of members of the business, social service, nonprofit, and academic sectors. The Commission will make specific recommendations aimed at becoming the centerpieces of the mayor's anti-poverty strategy.
The Commission has its work cut out. How is it that in a city inclusive of five of the wealthiest zip codes in the United States, 20% of the population is poor (especially when the national percentage is only 12%)? How can it be that a staggering 30% of children live in poverty --- almost double the national average --- in one of the world's richest cities?
Almost one in five New Yorkers with jobs live in poverty, while another one in five of its elderly are destitute. Despite New York's well-earned reputation as one of this country's most expensive cities, more than one in four people in the Bronx (27%) live in poverty --- more than twice the national poverty rate (with Brooklyn not far behind at 23.3%).
The median household income in the United States in 2003 was $43,318; in many Manhattan zip codes it was six digits and beyond. But in the Bronx, a mere 20-minute drive (barring traffic) from the Stock Exchange, Wall Street, and Lady Liberty, the average household income dipped down to $27,550 (in Brooklyn it was $30,610). Not alot for a family of four.
The mayor has stated that one of his most important priorities during his second term is addressing rising poverty levels in New York. However, as Daniel Millstone noted in a Gotham Gazette post, while the Commission supposedly prepares its recommendations, it has said nothing of some of the mayor's policies which hurt the poor.
Millstone cited the following as examples and provided the following analysis:
1) The Parks Department's imposition of user fees for facilities in low-income neighborhoods for the first time. The fees will not raise substantial revenue but create a money barrier to park facilities.
2) The New York City Housing Authority's imposition of increased repair fees and rents, which do not raise substantial revenue, but impose hardship on residents. The increases in rents just make affordable housing much more of a dream and are needed only if NYC -- now basking in multi-billion dollar surpluses -- puts no money into making NYCHA affordable.
3) The Mayor forced HRA to rescind an application which would have made it easier to give food stamps to non-employed adults. This would have been a no-cost item for the City and was rejected under the theory that it would promote dependancy.
Millstone stated: "Have the Commission members spoken up in the face of these Bloomberg Administration moves against the poor? I have not heard them. Perhaps, they are whispering down the corridors of power. Mayor Bloomberg's actions above speak clearly as does the silence of his commissioners."
Perhaps the Commission can redeem itself with forceful and intelligent suggestions for grappling with New York's poverty rate, and perhaps the Mayor can do the same by aggressively implementing serious anti-poverty policies.
But there is still a long way to go before a trip from plentiful prosperity to painful poverty takes more than 20 minutes.
Ezekiel Edwards: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 7:00 AM, Jul 18, 2006 in
Economic Opportunity | Economy | Fiscal Responsibility
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