Opinion | The Mamdani Moment Is About More Than You Realize - The New York Times Highlight

The vacancy rate for rental housing is 1.4 percent — as low as it has been since 1968 — and the median asking rent of $3,491 has gone up more than 18 percent in the past five years. While wages are rising, costs are rising faster, and the gap between rich and poor is only growing. Between 2019 and 2024, the top 3 percent of New York City earners saw their wages increase more than 34 percent; for every other income bracket, the increase was less than 10 percent. The city’s poverty rate recently hit 25 percent, nearly double the national average.