Tale of Two Cities

They are barely a mile apart. But New Yorkers living in the city's 14th and 16th congressional districts – electoral districts with populations of around 600,000 each – often occupy completely different worlds. To travel between the two districts is to go from a world of unimaginable luxury to one of fear and poverty. It takes about 10 minutes on the subway. The 14th occupies a chunk of Manhattan and Queens. Not all of it is wealthy, but at its heart lies the Upper East Side, by Central Park, a neighbourhood that is home to New York's moneyed classes. Old money New York has long considered the Upper East Side its natural home, viewing Central Park as its backyard and Manhattan as a private playground. The same cannot be said of the 16th. That district spans the South Bronx. It has been occupied by waves of immigrants, now mainly Hispanics from Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, plus black Americans heading out of the south or fleeing higher rents in gentrifying Harlem. It is rife with gangs, drugs and crime. Well-paid jobs are scarce.

Last week a census report revealed that 46 million Americans live in poverty, the highest number ever recorded. At the same time, the richest 20% of Americans control 84% of the country's wealth. Indeed, just 400 families have the same net worth as the total of the bottom 50%. America's Gini coefficient – which measures inequality of income distribution – now nears that of Rwanda. The Gini figure is just a number – but to walk the streets of the 14th and 16th districts is to see that story of growing inequality in terms of people living almost next to each other but separated by education, job prospects, health, race and class.

Life expectancy is three years lower in the South Bronx than on the Upper East Side. The median household income of $23,000 (£14,500) in the 16th is barely above the official poverty level. In the South Bronx, nearly 40% of people live below the poverty line; in the 14th, the figure is less than 10%. The murder rate is four times higher in the 16th and the number of robberies more than twice as high. There are 90 Starbucks coffee shops in the 14th. There is just one in the 16th.

Last year the ratio of wage bills to company earnings rose at 10 out of 16 major US and European banks. This year again will see bonuses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for many and millions of dollars for the lucky few. Such payouts fuel the Upper East Side property market. A glance at an estate agent's display on Madison Avenue revealed a townhouse going for $26m. Prefer to rent? Another could be had for $58,000 a month. Even a modest-looking two-bedroom apartment cost $1.9m. On 75th Street, one opulent mansion has just been sold by financier Christopher Flowers for $36.5m.

Taken from here