Black Exodus

It’s not just the billionaires who are leaving New York City in droves. True enough, the billionaire exodus is going to compromise tax collection, but we need also to note, as the New York Post reports, that black New Yorkers are also heading for the exit.

The number approaches 10%:

New York City’s black population has dropped 9% since 2000, with the exodus apparently accelerating after the eight disastrous de Blasio years.

More young than older blacks are leading the move:

The decline has been steepest among young black New Yorkers: The city’s number of black children and teens cratered by a fifth from 2010 to 2020. That means families are heading out — and many heading south.

Among the causes, the cost of real estate:

Partly, it’s the city’s insane housing market, which is brutal on growing families. All the rent laws benefit the “haves”: people who don’t need to move. Hoping your kids can have a room of their own? The median rent for an available two-bedroom apartment in New York City is $4,859; in Atlanta, $2,450.

And, of course, the school system is a complete and abject failure. 

Education is another reason to leave: Most public schools in minority neighborhoods are disasters. That’s why there’s such an enormous appetite for public charter schools — but the teachers unions (more “haves”) use their political power to prevent the charter sector from growing to meet the demand. Our way or the highway, says the United Federation of Teachers, and parents determined to do better for their kids hit the road.

And finally, there is the crime rate. Most crime victims are black so more crime means a faster exodus:

Crime, too, has an outsize effect on black New Yorkers. They’re 23% of the city population, but 67% of homicide victims. For rapes, it’s around 38%; felonious assault, about 46%. So rising crime means rising black departures.

The Post attributes it to progressive policies. We cannot dispute the point. The road to hell, as they say, is paved with the best intentions.