Between rich & poor, a line in the sand

Two pieces of news from last week nicely illustrate the hollow nature of “we’re all in this together” coronavirus crisis rhetoric. New York’s wealthy are getting by during this crisis, sometimes because of an entitled refusal to obey quarantine guidelines, and sometimes because that’s just the way the system is built.

The New York Times published a report that examined, in exhausting, depressing detail, which New Yorkers fled their home city and where they went. The data is unambiguous: rich, predominately white neighborhoods emptied out. Greenwich Village, the Upper East Side and Brooklyn Heights saw 40% to 50% of their populations clear out, with serious drops happening in mid-to-late March. By far, the most popular destination was eastern Long Island, home of the Hamptons.

Second, Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio separately made announcements regarding one of our state’s most cherished resources, our public beaches. Good news for non-city residents: State-run beaches throughout New York will open starting Friday for swimming and sunbathing, albeit at 50% capacity. Alas, New York City’s famed beaches — from Orchard in the Bronx to Coney Island to the Rockaways — will be open solely for walks. No swimming allowed.

In other words, if you stayed put in the five boroughs, as did our largely lowwage essential workers, you could well be in for a beachless (and pool-free) summer. If you ran at the first sign of trouble, see you in September with a nice deep tan.

Most of those who fled our ailing city, mind you, did so with the knowledge that they shouldn’t. The statewide shutdown began in full force on March 20. Days earlier, even President Trump was warning against unnecessary travel. By March 24, federal authorities announced that fleeing New Yorkers were at risk of spreading coronavirus.

Now the reward for this fecklessness is beach access.

This may seem like a small issue in the grand scheme (I, a beach rat, would disagree). But this is just another example of how New York’s wealthy have left it to the rest of us to bear the burdens of COVID-19.

Cuomo is demanding sacrifice of all New Yorkers who rely on government services, from public schools to health care. De Blasio is taking a meat cleaver to municipal spending, promising at least $2 billion in cuts. Whatever pain New Yorkers have felt so far will seem like a day at the fenced-off beach compared to what’s coming. Lost in the debate: any serious talk of raising taxes on New York’s wealthiest citizens.

An income tax designed to target only those who have kept their heads well above water during COVID-19 is not hard to imagine. If you managed to keep making more than, say, $400,000, even throughout widespread economic devastation, you must give a little back to help your fellow New Yorkers. It’s not the craziest idea in the world — and it’s been endorsed by none of New York’s leaders, even as they promise cuts to public education used, in the city, mostly by our lower- and middle-class residents.

Most Americans don’t have a Hamptons home to flee to when things get serious. Most Americans don’t even have savings, let alone capital to invest to “profit” off coronavirus, as many investors are now doing. What we New Yorkers have is a sense of strong community and, when the concrete turns scorching in the dog days of summer, the chance at some relief. Now we see the former has always been a happy untruth, and the latter will be reserved solely for the COVID-spreading turncoats who didn’t want to tough it out with the peons.

Some of us are indeed in this together, and will bear the brunt of sacrifices intended to make sure more people don’t die. Others will float above the fray, enjoy a quick dip in the Atlantic, and tell themselves they are New York Strong when really they are New York’s most coddled class.

Teufel is a writer and lawyer based in Brooklyn.