Early in the pandemic, when New York emerged as the epicenter of the pandemic,and found reductions in more affluent neighborhoods — including the East Village, the Upper West Side, and the Upper East Side. The amount of waste actually increased in parts of Queens and Staten Island, implying the wealthy parts of the city emptied out and the less affluent parts may have swelled in number.
The amount of income and capital the ultrawealthy hold in New York is staggering: Per Bloomberg, the top 5% of taxpayers in 2018 earned more than the bottom 95%. "The more New York has allowed working people and small businesses to be driven out of the city, the more it has come to depend on the very wealthiest — people and firms with the wherewithal to move if they don't get the subsidy or tax break they demand.
The knock-on effects of this migration are already obvious, especially in real estate. Amid the pandemic,