New York City’s population is the largest it’s ever been, according to forthcoming census data, topping 8.4 million for the first time in history. For decades, the city has lost more people to migration than it’s gained from immigration, but for the past three years, that trend has reversed. In the year between July of 2012 and 2013, NYC accrued 61,000 additional people.
The five boroughs aren’t getting any bigger, meaning yes, the city is probably a little more crowded than it used to be. The de Blasio administration, for its part, says it is committed to build more housing in order to accommodate everyone. Says planning commission chairman Carl Weisbrod: “These population increases underscore the need to spur creation of housing for all New Yorkers, something which we are focusing on as part of the mayor’s mandate to provide 200,000 affordable apartments over the next 10 years.”
(Photo: @Susan Sermoneta)
