Columbia
sees vast gap between rich and poor in NYC
(May 1999)
Borrowing from Charles Dickens, Columbia
University researchers say that for New Yorkers, "it is the best of times
and the worst of times." Safer streets and a strong economy are making
the city, for many, a great place to live and to visit. But New York is
a city of great inequality, not only in income, but in other dimensions
of economic and social well-being.
"A Tale of Many Cities"— the inaugural
report of Columbia University’s Social Indicators Survey — describes the
well being of New Yorkers in terms of their human and financial assets,
their economic and living conditions, and their experience with the city
and its institutions.
The authors of the report are Irwin Garfinkel
and Marcia K. Meyers, professors at Columbia’s School of Social Work. They
randomly surveyed more than 1,500 families of various economic, racial,
and ethnic backgrounds in all five boroughs.
The outlook for those New Yorkers who are
poor in both financial and human assets is most troubling to the authors.
"For many poor New Yorkers who enjoy good health and high levels of education,
it can be possible to overcome temporary financial constraints," Meyers
commented. "The outlook is much worse for those who are desperately poor
in terms of both financial and human assets."
Some key findings include:
Differences between New York City and
the U.S.:
• 5% of New Yorkers have incomes at least
10 times the poverty line, about the same as the nation as a whole. But
29% of the city’s residents live in poverty (nearly twice the national
rate) and 44% have zero financial assets (in contrast to 12% of U.S. residents).
Differences across boroughs:
• Over a third of Bronx families are
poor—well above the national average—while in Manhattan, the proportion
of families with very high incomes is nearly three times the national average.
Differences among racial/ethnic groups:
• On virtually every indicator, white
New Yorkers are the most advantaged New Yorkers, reporting higher incomes
and better living conditions, and rating the city and its institutions
more highly.
• By many measures, Hispanic families appear
to be poorer and more disadvantaged than those headed by Non-Hispanic black
adults. But Hispanic respondents are more likely to think the city is becoming
a better place to live and to give high marks to the city’s police and
schools.
Differences for immigrants:
• On many measures of economic and social
well-being, immigrants are faring much worse than families headed by a
U.S.-born adult. But, across white, black and Hispanic families, immigrant
parents are less likely than their U.S.-born counterparts to report that
their children are behind in school or have behavior problems.
Differences between rich and poor:
• Hunger is reported more than twice
as often by families in New York than by those in the U.S. as a whole.
• The odds that the poorest New Yorkers
live in over-crowded housing are more than six times those of more affluent
city residents.
Differences for children in affluent and
poor families:
• Children in poor families are much
more likely to be in poor health or disabled than those in affluent families.
The gap between rich and poor children increases as they age, so that by
adolescence the odds that a poor child is in bad health are nearly twice
as high.
• While 84% of New York City, parents report
that their children are at grade level, the odds of being behind a grade
or in special education are over six times greater for poor children than
for affluent children.
The Social Indicators Survey Center is a new
initiative of the School of Social Work. It is designed to serve the teaching,
research and service functions of the University by (1) providing a core
teaching resource; (2) providing a unique data source for studying the
city; and (3) improving knowledge about social needs and services for use
by social service administrators, planners government officials and policymakers.
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