An alarming new report finds income inequity in New York City has accelerated as the wealthy elite have built immense fortunes through investments, while most everyday workers struggle to survive on a paycheck.<\/p>\n
The report<\/a> by Mark Levine, the city\u2019s comptroller, found that 60 percent of the city\u2019s wealth was concentrated in only 10 percent of the population, intensifying the city\u2019s affordability crisis.<\/p>\n This disparity plays out along racial lines. Last year, the median income<\/a> for Black New Yorkers was $60,000, compared to $110,000 for white city residents.\u00a0 At the wage level, the racial gap<\/a> was $16 per hour. \u00a0 Even among the city\u2019s municipal workforce<\/a>, where greater parity might be expected, workers of color earned 84 cents per dollar compared to white workers.<\/p>\n The comptroller\u2019s analysis<\/a> suggests Mayor Mamdani must focus on jobs and workforce training that unlocks upward mobility for New Yorkers. His prescription must look beyond tax hikes on the rich, increasing the minimum wage, and holding the line on rents.\u00a0 The most effective steps to drive down inequality long-term are giving more New Yorkers opportunities to enter the middle class through good-paying jobs and ownership of durable assets.<\/p>\n Specifically, the mayor must reform the current system of public, private, and non-profit players that recruit, train, and place thousands of New Yorkers annually into entry-level jobs. These \u201cpathway\u201d roles can be precarious, with starting wages low and retention volatile. As a result, workers\u2019 climb up the ladder toward economic security often produces only temporary gains that rarely, if ever, translate into wealth.<\/p>\n More New Yorkers need to get a foot in the door. That means apprenticeships at Wall Street financial giants, health insurers, pharmaceutical companies, engineering and technology firms, particularly artificial intelligence giants flush with investment capital. Everyone involved should work more closely with City University of New York, which already has strong STEM curricula, to expand its offerings of specialized training programs.<\/p>\n On top of investments in jobs, New Yorkers need safe and stable homes. I strongly support the pending New York City Council bill \u2014the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act<\/a> (COPA) \u2014 that would give government-vetted, qualified entities the first chance to buy troubled properties. The bill, sponsored by Brooklyn Councilmember Sandy Nurse, would specifically exclude small owner-occupied buildings with fewer than six apartments or parents passing properties on to their children.\u00a0 A complimentary bill pending at the state level, called the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA),<\/a> builds on COPA. Both should be fast-tracked by the City Council and New York State Legislature.<\/p>\n A home is the greatest asset most individuals will own in their lifetime, but only one-quarter of Black and less than one-fifth of Latino city residents own their homes, compared to nearly half of white New Yorkers.\u00a0 COPA and TOPA would open the door to social housing<\/a>, which can especially help low-income people by creating new opportunities for ownership, control and long-term stability.\u00a0 Residents of social housing can put the money they are not spending on unaffordable rents or mortgages into other investments, be they social (education, training), financial (retirement vehicles, college savings accounts), or physical (equipment, business start-up funds).\u00a0<\/p>\n Mayor Mamdani\u2019s other announced programs are on target. They range from raising the city\u2019s minimum wage to $30<\/a> to the creation of an Office of Worker Power<\/a> to empower labor unions and local rank-and-file employees. Those steps would enhance his ambitious portfolio of affordability goals, including universal childcare<\/a>, low-cost grocery stores in every borough, and free bus rides<\/a>.<\/p>\n