New York City Poverty Essay

The U.S. is considered to be the wealthiest nation in the world, yet we can still find a great amount of poverty within its rural and urban areas. Even the largest city in the country, New York City, cannot escape the effects of poverty. The city is home to over ten million people and its population continues to grow. Although the city is known for its strong economy and job market, like other cities throughout the world, it faces a vast amount of poverty. Even today it is said that nearly one in four New Yorkers live under the poverty line (Robin Hood). In order for someone to be considered within the poverty line their family income must be below $23,000 (Institute of Research and Poverty). With gentrification taking a toll within the …show more content…
This small elite group have been said to be the reason for the increase of living in New York City. Many would agree with this fact, since gentrification has been able to be spotted in many parts of the city. Many large companies and businesses have been buying or renovating, building all throughout the city, resulting in rent as well as real estate property value to increase. By doing this many low-income families or even middle class families are forced to move out of the city. The New York Post reported that a bedroom loft that was once considered to be in one the most dangerous parts of the city, Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn costs nearly $1 million dollars. New York Times also claims that since 2005 the same area where this loft is sold 5% of families living in the area had been forced to move into shelters. They also claim that gentrification is the cause to why some who were even once considered to be in the middle class fall into homelessness. The poor cannot keep up against affluent individuals moving into the city. Researchers have even found that families and individuals that were forced to move out of their prior neighborhood were moved to even worse neighborhoods and compete against housing (New York Times, Ginia