You know the cost of living in New York City is ridiculous, don't you?
Like, for instance, the Citizen's Budget Commission reported that 42% of New Yorkers spend 30% of their income on rent earlier this year.
Then, DNAinfo reported you'd need to earn $130,800 for a one-bedroom apartment at Manhattan's median price.
Now, DNAinfo reported on a new poll that found even the majority of New Yorkers who earn more than $100,000 are worried they'll be priced out of their neighborhood.
The poll was taken by NY1/Baruch College. Twenty percent of the New Yorkers they surveyed ranked affordable housing as NYC's most important issue; more pertinent than crime, jobs, and the economy.
Of the remaining New Yorkers surveyed, 16% ranked crime as NYC's most urgent issue, 16% ranked jobs most urgent, 16% said the economy most needed to be addressed, and 12% felt the city's most dire issue was homelessness.
Mayor de Blasio is aware of these top five issues. He's recently allocated billions of dollars in new iniatives to address NYC's homelessness epidemic.
Also, his zoning changes designed to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing by 2024 are currently being examined by the City Council.
Still, some Affordable Housing advocates, and even some City Council members, expressed concern that NYC's "affordable" housing isn't affordable enough for most low-income New Yorkers.
Of the New Yorkers that took part in NY1/Baruch College's poll, 65% said it was likely they'd be priced out of their neighborhood in the next few years.
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Probably the most jarring finding of the survey was that of the New Yorkers who felt it was likely they'd be priced out of their neighborhood, 53% earn six figures a year.
Less surprisingly, examined through the lens of age, economic anxiety skews toward the very young and very old New Yorkers.
Of those surveyed who were under 30, 74% felt they'd be priced out, while 48% those surveyed over 65 felt they'd be priced out.
Of the New Yorkers without a high school diploma who were surveyed, 77% felt they'd be priced out. The 70% of black and 66% of Latino New Yorkers surveyed felt they were likely to be priced out.
"What we've been saying the entire time is that low-and-moderate-income people feel they will be shut out of the mayor's plan," said Martiza Silva-Farrell, campaign director for Real Affordability for All.
"This plan needs to meet the needs of those folks. The question at the end of the day continues to be that the housing is affordable for who?" said Silva-Farrell.
We knew the economic situation in NYC was bad, but we didn't know it was bad to the point that even New Yorkers earning six figures feel likely to be priced out of their neighborhoods. Could we get it together, NYC?
Of course, when you're worried about getting priced out of your neighborhood, you start to wonder whether you're spending money the best way possible. If you're still paying a broker to help you find an apartment, you're doing it wrong. Check out Oliver and start saving money on your next apartment.
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[via DNAinfo] [Feature Image Courtesy Inhabitat]