When it comes to being poor, there are less generous places than New York, one of the nation’s archetypal “safety net” states. New Yorkers have greater access to public healthcare, food stamps, and state-administered welfare cash, which comes with fewer restrictions than federal welfare and no time limits. New York City is the only American metropolis that guarantees the legal right to shelter, year-round, for both families and single adults, including non-pregnant women. But in practice, shelter gets denied and food stamps cut off with the vagaries of each city administration.
