A new report finds that nearly 14% of New Yorkers are living in poverty.
The state’s Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released the report on Thursday, showing New York’s poverty rates higher than the national average.
Poverty is defined as a person or household who doesn’t have the financial resources to meet basica needs like food, clothing, shelter, and access to a minimum standard of living.
The report found that the coronavirus pandemic worsened the financial stress of New Yorkers. Inflation has largely undone the benefits gained by workers being able to find jobs since pandemic-era lockdowns ended.
Cities like Rochester, Syracuse, and Buffalo had the highest rates of poverty.
As for what’s next to get it under control. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie says it’s all about affordability. “Affordability I think you will see is gonna be one of the big previews that I can already tell you that the assembly is going to want to focus on,” he said. “But we have to figure out a more, longer, more sustainable way.”
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