The Other New York

The old theme notwithstanding, it’s not East side-West side that separates New Yorkers.

It’s inside and outside. Inside meaning those residents who depend on the city to provide their basic services: health, education, housing, child-care, income, recreation and other special services. The outside population lives in or commutes to the city, earns its income here, enjoys the cultural and other advantages, but can afford to take care of itself. It shops anywhere for options.

The distinction is economic. You don’t sit in municipal clinics if you can afford a private doctor. You don’t put your kid on a waiting list for a preschool program in the park if you can enroll the child in a nursery immediately.

We all note New York’s remarkable progress toward fiscal health. But the inside population has paid the heaviest price for this progress. Budget cuts have been slicing directly into the quality of their lives for the past five years. Th...