Has New York Gone Off the Rails?

I’ve never set foot in the United States.
I’ve never walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, never stood in the chaos of Times Square, never felt the pulse of a New York subway during rush hour.

And yet, I feel like I know the city.

Because New York is more than just a place – it’s a symbol. A mirror of our world. And what that mirror reflects today… is painful.

Report after report tells of a harsh reality: growing poverty, sky-high rents, children sleeping in shelters or on benches. Not in some remote war-torn country, but in one of the most iconic cities in the world.

A City Losing Its Grip

In 2024, it was reported that nearly 119,000 public school students in New York City were homeless. Let that sink in. That’s not just a number – that’s children. Kids going to school from shelters, cars, even the street. A 23% increase in just one year.

At the same time, the cost of living has exploded. The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan is now over $4,500 a month. Vacancy rates are as low as 1.4%. It’s a brutal race for the few homes available – and most are left behind.

Some estimates say that 25% of New York’s population now lives below the poverty line.

How Did It Get This Bad?

As someone watching from afar, from the other side of the Atlantic, it’s both shocking and disheartening. How can a city that once represented possibility and freedom now be a place where working full-time doesn’t guarantee you a roof over your head?

This isn’t about temporary hardship. This is a system failure.

And it’s not just happening in New York. We see it in Stockholm, in Berlin, in London. When cities turn into investment playgrounds rather than homes for people, when the social contract dissolves – then inequality festers.

A City Divided in Two

New York has always had two faces. One glamorous, one grim. And maybe that was part of its energy – the tension between dreams and struggle.

But now, the gap between these worlds has become a canyon.

On one side: luxury condos with rooftop pools and private movie theaters. On the other: food banks in the Bronx with lines stretching around the block. The middle class is being pushed out. Families are falling apart. Safety nets are gone. And kids are growing up believing that they were never meant to belong.

This Isn’t Just About New York

You might wonder, “Why should I care? I don’t live there.”

Because New York is a reflection of our world. When the most creative, resource-rich city begins to crumble – it should make us all pause. This isn’t about geography. It’s about humanity.

When food, shelter, and dignity become luxuries – something is deeply broken.

I’m Not Speaking From Nostalgia – I’m Speaking From Urgency

People like to say, “New York has always been tough.” Sure. But it was also a place where hard work, resilience, and creativity could take you somewhere. Today, even that path seems blocked.

And those who fall off the track? They disappear. Not into support systems – but into statistics. Or into the shadows.

But There Is Still Hope

Despite it all, I believe in people. In communities. In volunteers who deliver food, in teachers who stay late, in teenagers who organize and resist.

I believe that when systems fail, humanity rises.

Maybe this crisis can light a spark – a demand for fairness, a call for cities that serve people, not profits.

It won’t be easy. But maybe it’s the jolt we need.

So… Has New York Gone Off the Rails?

Yes. Undeniably. But it’s also a warning we need to hear – no matter where we live.

Because if we stop reacting to child poverty, to hunger, to homelessness – it’s not just New York that’s in trouble. It’s all of us.

We still have a chance to turn things around.

But only if we dare to face the truth.

Even from across the ocean.