Living In New York City

Many inner city dwellers are often physically, socially, and economically trapped to the confines of their living situation. Lack of financial stability in the inner city prevents many residents from improving their situation, and in effect leaves an entire community socially and economically stagnant and living with “rats in the front room, roaches in the back/junkie’s in the alley with a baseball bat.” In the author’s case, one shared by countless other inner city residents, the ability to even catch a breather from the depressing sites and life of the inner city is not even feasible due to lack of transportation.

The area which is one of the most dangerous areas in Miami has a high crime rate. In the past, several years the area has seen a dramatic increase in the lower income families that reside there. Many have population have suffered from the economic decline of the area leading to many losing businesses and homes. Many of the homeless in the area have been previous residents of the area, with the economic decline of the area many of the population have been displaced and have become homeless. The homeless in the area often have ties to the community whether family or friend and as such they continue to stay in the area.

Tenement buildings are run down buildings, mostly in the city. Poor families and mostly poor immigrants would live inside these buildings. Tenement buildings were very unhealthy to live in. A danger that families had to face in these buildings was that they were run down. Run down buildings could fall apart and the ceilings could be tore. Also, the buildings could have mold and people can get sick from breathing in mold, laying on mold, or ingesting mold. Tenements were also small and crowded with people, so if someone gets sick in the tenement it will spread very fast to the whole family. Tenement buildings are also very unsanitary. There were outhouses outside the buildings and these outhouses would stink up the neighborhood. Outhouses are unsanitary because the waste inside them would be stuck inside them for a long time and that can attract bugs. Furthermore, outside these tenements in the backyard, were mud and animal feces all over the place. Along with the mud and animal waste children would try to play outside but, it would be to dirty for them to go outside and play. Fires were one of the many dangers that people in tenement buildings had to face. If there was a fire it would be hard for tenement residents to evacuate the building because there was no fire escapes. Likewise, tenements residents could also have fire hazards like cigarettes or

Life in tenements was tough because as the population was increasing exponentially; the quality of life was becoming increasingly crowded and unsanitary. Since these buildings were in high demand, housing over two thirds of the population of New York, they were commonly made of cheap materials. Maks’ family’s rooms were not well made because “the ceiling is tin. The floor is wood. As for the walls, they’re all faded green with a few cracks” (Avi 54). The buildings themselves were packed with inhabitants so that the landlords could pack more money in their back pockets. The tenement flats were very dimly light, which left many lowlifes living in low light. There was a lack of light put on the subject, and some of the regulations to have better sanitation

If growing up in New York City has taught me anything, it is the gift of optimism and to never give up on your dreams. Even at twenty two while being withdrawn from university, I am still always learning important new life lessons and new things that improve me, and make me not only stronger as a business person and entrepreneur, but my own humanity and existence as well. Being in my own corner of the country can feel disorienting at times, especially when visiting family in other parts of the states. It feels like you are given a brief glimpse through a window at a completely different way of life, despite being relatively close. I feel the next step to learning more about my self and giving me even more of a strong edge is to complete my

Homelessness is a noteworthy issue in America. There are a large number of individuals who experience this epidemic each and every day without a rooftop over their head, water, or sustenance and even some with no garments on their backs. It is so difficult to acknowledge the way that even youthful children are living on the streets. One issue that America faces every day from homelessness are the unlawful acts. Just because some is living on the streets does not mean they are terrible individuals. The issue is that they need to survive yet they can’t bear the cost of any nourishment or water. This is the exactly why they look like culprits. Homelessness is a problem in America because it put people’s lives at risk and can be solved by quickly adding more affordable houses across the country, helping people transition from the streets to a house, and provide shelters to keep people safe.

According to Wilson and Wacquant, there is a cost that is associated with racial and class exclusion in the inner city. People are subjected to “poverty, social disruptions, degradation of public housing and public schools”. Since the system itself is designed for its citizens to fail by providing little to no resources, people are left to cope with social, economical, political, and cultural inequality. These issues play a role on the overall perspective of an individual. People are the sum of their experiences and when these experiences are accompanied by hardship all their lives they tend to cope by doing drugs and alcohol to

I grew up in New York State, home of the city that never sleeps. This state is known for Manhattan or the Big Apple, but that is only one of New York’s five boroughs. Where in New York did I grow up? Well, in New York there is a quaint borough called Staten Island. It is in Staten Island where I did just that.

Unfortunately, as stated by Berk (2014), low- socio-economic neighborhoods are deprived from fundamental things that are vital

Some strengths of this article are when the author interviewed the homeless people, and they told the author what they really want. Some of them just need a place they can afford. Even those homeless people don’t have a real place to live but they feel safe. After the author interviewed the homeless people, some of them said, “I look at it that it’s a secure community” (Bransford, 2009, para. 16). The homeless people feel safe because they have officials who are making rules. Officials are protecting the homeless people, so they would be safe from crimes. The author proposed an idea about how to solve the crisis of the housing for the homeless like they did in some other states. They will be able to afford a low-income apartment but they also would have to do some community service. A second strength is when the author gave the readers a percentage of people who live in tents and what kind of people who live there. He wants to let the readers know it’s not only American citizens who are affected as the economy goes down but migrant workers and African-Americans are impacted also. “About 200 people-primarily poor whites and migrant workers from Mexico-have built informal habitats along the railroad tracks” (Bransford, 2009, para. 3). The economy has impacted every low-income families no matter the race. Another strength of this article is the author presented everyone living in tents, no matter the race like white American, African-American, and Mexican is homeless. “Just to the south, under a freeway overpass, there’s another camp of roughly equal size called New Jack City where most of the residents are black” (Bransford, 2009, para.

Unfortunately, the issue of homeless has such a vast extent of causes, which is why it is becoming a legitimate issue. In New York City, the spike in homelessness has started since the Great Depression. Many Americans during this time period who have invested everything have lost everything. Many families faced financial crisis and could do nothing to pay for housing. Even after economic prosperity was regained in the 1940s, the damage had already been done. Ralph da Costa Nunez, the president of the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness has said “While the nation's economy entered a period of prosperity, New York's homeless problem showed no signs of ebbing” (David R). Ever since this conflict, homelessness has been taken to new heights and today, the number of homeless people are increasing. One of the most common reasons for homelessness is the financial pressure put upon families because of overwhelming prices. The issue is caused because “rising rents have put many ‘affordable’ apartments beyond the financial reach of low-income

People who are better off in their lives tend to separate themselves from people who are not, furthermore not wanting to lend a hand to help them creating residential segregation. Residential Segregation is defined as “clustering separation of ethnic, racial, and economic characteristics in a living area” (Leon-Guerrero 2014). Residential segregation will cause tension leading to frustration between minorities (preferably Hispanics and Blacks) looking from the outside looking in because they do not have the same opportunity and access the best household available to them and settle into a neighborhood where the probability of crime will be high. Families who have to settle to crime infested neighborhoods will have more influence to participate in criminal activities due to the frustration of unequal opportunity for a comfortable living environment. Another value for creating a sustainable community is decreasing the number of people who are homeless. Homelessness is a social problem that is equivalent to residential segregation because it also affects minorities without affordable housing (2014). Similar to residential segregation, homelessness will increase the violence in an environment because the lack of equal opportunity. If it were not for the residential segregation and homelessness, everyone would have the same

Moving to New York City can be one of the most exciting things a person can do. There is a very good reason its called the city that never sleeps and the world's city. There is so much to do, so much to see, and an air of freedom and unity that cannot be found anywhere else. Moving to the Big Apple can also be stressful, just finding a place that is in your price range and fits your way of life can be a chore. Every neighborhood has its own unique character and choosing one that s the right fit for you can be a headache if you don't have the right guidance.

One of the main difficulties low income individuals in urban spaces face is the access to affordable housing. Affordable housing “refers to housing intended for ‘low income’ or ‘very low income’ people” (Williams, 2003, p. 18). Housing is fundamental to the social and economic needs of people in the city. However, among the poor populations of this neighborhood, there is a shortage of affordable housing. The median household income in community board 4 neighborhoods is $27,000 (U.S. Census, 2013). Not only is the median household income almost below the national poverty line, but it is insufficient and cannot cover the rising costs of housing. Rent tremendously surpasses the financial budget of the low income residents in community board 4

They lived in impoverished neighborhoods that children had to beg and look through garbage for food, and gang infested