New Study Reveals Half of Working-Age New Yorkers Struggling to Meet Basic Needs

“It is true that many businesses are only paying the minimum, which is $15 and with inflation now, practically $15 is not enough for anything,” said Beto Miranda.

The results of the most recent study of ‘What it costs to live in New York City’ reveal that more than one million households, or almost three million people, are struggling to meet their basic needs.

The report shows that among those who suffer the most are the Latino communities and single mothers.

The Fund for the City of New York AND the United Way New York City have been publishing this report since 2000.

In the previous report, from 2021, the number of people with difficulties was 36%. Now it has risen to half of the households of working-age New Yorkers.

“When people are in that situation, the first thing they sacrifice is food, the second thing they sacrifice is medicine. So what happens? People are not only living in poverty, but they are eating worse, no,” said Grace Bonilla , President and CEO of UWNYC.

“And then what you can do to help yourself doesn’t happen and I think it is and since we are talking about single mothers with very young children, the impact of this is going to be felt for generations,” added Bonilla.

“We have to think about the cost of child care, child care programs because that is a cost that now many people cannot support in their family. That is very important and also the report does not talk about this, but the costs of caring for the elderly”, said Lisette Nieves, President of the Fund for the City of New York

These two entities call for the approval of policies that reverse this situation.

“The good cause law would require landlords and landlords to show justification for evicting tenants in unregulated units and would protect tenants from exorbitant rent increases by restricting rent increases to 3% or 1.5 times the rate of rent. inflation”, said Juan García, Paralegal Legal Assistance Society

The data shows that households in all 5 boroughs now need to earn at least $100,000 to live “comfortably.” But according to the most recent census data, the real median household income is around $70,000.

“I’ve been looking for a job for more than a month and I haven’t found it, I’ve even gone to places where they offer help and all that and nothing,” said Antelmo Caletre, a Sunset Park resident.