New York City's poor got even poorer over the course of the pandemic, as poverty indicators of all sorts spiked throughout already-vulnerable populations, according to Bloomberg. This finding stems from a joint study by Columbia University's Center on Poverty and Social Policy and the nonprofit Robin Hood (not to be confused with the trading platform Robinhood).

Before the pandemic, Black and Latino New Yorkers surveyed were already twice as likely to be living in poverty as white New Yorkers, according to the report. Since then, 59 percent of Latino workers and 55 percent of Black workers lost income, compared with 43 percent for white workers. Meanwhile, 57 percent of Latino New Yorkers and 55 percent of Black New Yorkers experienced food hardship last year, compared with 17 percent of white New Yorkers. This is reflected in the surge in food pantry use, with the proportion of New Yorkers getting food from a food pantry going from 10 percent in 2019 to around 30 percent in 2020.

Government aid programs did blunt the impact, meaning that as grim as things are, it's not the worst-case scenario. Government transfers in 2019 reduced the poverty rate from 27 percent to 18; in 2020, government transfers reduced the poverty rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. The report recommended more of such policies, such as the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill, to further address inequalities.