The end of pandemic-era aid led to a dramatic spike in the number of New Yorkers living in poverty according to a new report from Columbia University and Robin Hood, an anti-poverty advocacy group.
More than half — or 56% — of New York City residents either live in poverty or can be classified as low-income, according to the report released on Wednesday.
The number of city residents considered to be living in poverty grew from 1.5 million to 2 million between 2021 and 2022, the report states. The city’s poverty rate increased from 18% in 2021 to 23% in 2022 — almost double the national average, according to the findings. It’s also the largest single-year increase in the citywide poverty rate since 2012.
The findings measure through 2022 and capture many of the effects of the end of federal COVID-19 aid. However, they don’t fully capture the effects of the 170,000 migrants who began arriving in New York since April 2022, or the influx’s accompanying fiscal challenges. The city’s housing crisis has also worsened in the last year.
People of color bear most of the sharp uptick in the city’s poverty rate, according to the report. Latino New Yorkers are twice as likely as whites to live in poverty — 26% compared to 13%. Asian and Black New Yorkers experienced similar rates in poverty to Latinos at 24% and 23% respectively.
The report calculates that a single person making $27,000 or less is considered either low-income or in poverty.
Richard Buery — the former New York City deputy mayor who heads Robin Hood — said the findings are particularly grim “given the steady progress New York City has made to reduce poverty in years.”
“We know that fully refundable tax credits, housing vouchers and childcare subsidies can move millions out of poverty and hardship,” he said in a statement. “But we have lacked the will to keep these policies in force.”
Along with the expiration of pandemic relief, researchers in the study also cast blame on inflation and…
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