Vol. 24, No. 17	March 10, 1999

Vast Gap Between Rich and Poor

BY KIM BROCKWAY

New York is a city of great inequality, not only in income, but in other dimensions of economic and social well-being as well, according to a new report by School of Social Work Professors Irwin Garfinkel and Marcia K. Meyers.

"A Tale of Many Cities"-the inaugural report of Columbia's Social Indicators Survey-describes the well-being of New Yorkers in terms of their human (health, education, etc.) and financial assets, their economic and living conditions and their experience with the city and its institutions.

The findings reveal the vast disparity between groups in the city and extreme levels of disadvantage, particularly among families with children. The researchers also find surprising differences between ethnic groups and between boroughs, along with inspiring news about the progress of immigrant children.

Because the report's content is of interest to so many, Garfinkel and Meyers recently joined with the New York Urban League's President and CEO Dennis Walcott and nearly 100 others to discuss the findings and their implications for the city at a breakfast meeting at the Columbia Club in midtown. Among those present were Executive Vice Provost Michael Crow, School of Social Work Dean Ronald A. Feldman, city and state officials, community leaders and foundation representatives.

Garfinkel and Meyers randomly surveyed more than 1,500 families of various economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds in all five boroughs. More than one-third of the adults interviewed were born outside the U.S., in nearly 100 different countries. The respondents were surveyed at the end of 1997, and the researchers plan to conduct the survey annually to assess changes over the coming years.

The study measures how individuals and families are faring in terms of their human, financial and social assets, their economic and other living conditions, and their satisfaction with various forms of external support and the city. "This is a unique effort to take the social temperature of the city," according to Garfinkel. "No other data source measures so many domains of well-being in such depth for all New Yorkers."

Some key findings include:

Differences between New York City and the U.S.:

€ 5 percent of New Yorkers have incomes at least 10 times the poverty line, about the same as the nation as a whole. But 29 percent of the city's residents live in poverty (nearly twice the national rate) and 44 percent have zero financial assets (in contrast to 12 percent of U.S. residents).

€ Nearly one-third of the adults surveyed had only a high school education. Thirty percent had not completed high school-much higher than the national rate of 19 percent.

Differences across boroughs:

€ More than a third of Bronx families are poor-well above the national average-while in Manhattan, the proportion of families with very high incomes is nearly three times the national average.

€ About three-quarters of the residents in Staten Island and Manhattan rate police protection as good, in contrast to barely one-half of those in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Differences among racial/ethnic groups:

€ On virtually every indicator, white New Yorkers are the most advantaged New Yorkers, reporting higher incomes and better living conditions, and rating the city and its institutions more highly.

€ By many measures, Hispanic families appear to be poorer and more disadvantaged than those headed by non-Hispanic black adults. But Hispanic respondents are more likely to think the city is becoming a better place to live and to give high marks to the city's police and schools.

Differences for immigrants:

€ On many measures of economic and social well-being, immigrants are faring much worse than families headed by a U.S.-born adult. The brightest news concerns their children: across white, black and Hispanic families, immigrant parents are less likely than their U.S.-born counterparts to report that their children are behind in school or have behavior adjustment problems.

Differences for families with and without children:

€ Over half of young adults with children are poor, compared to just over one-third of young adults without children.

€ Young families with children are among the most distressed New Yorkers: most likely to suffer from overcrowded and substandard housing, to experience hunger and problems paying utility bills, and to live in neighborhoods they rate as unsafe.

"The fact that some New Yorkers are doing much better than others comes as no surprise," say Meyers and Garfinkel. "But we are amazed at the magnitude of the distance between the most and least disadvantaged residents of the city. And the concentration of disadvantage among those families with the most to lose - young parents and their children - should be a source of concern for all New Yorkers."

The New York City Social Indicators Survey Center is a new initiative of the School of Social Work. It is designed to serve the teaching, research and service functions of the University by (1) providing a core teaching resource; (2) providing a unique data source for studying the city; and (3) improving knowledge about social needs and services for use by social service administrators, planners, government officials and policymakers.

Irwin Garfinkel, the Mitchell I. Ginsberg Professor of Contemporary Urban Problems, is founder and chair of the Center. Marcia K. Meyers, assistant professor of Social Work and Public Affairs, serves as the associate director.