The Astoria Project: Employment, Health, and Well-being in One New York City Neighborhood During Covid
A report by L.K. Moe
The Astoria Project survey of over 700 Astoria residents captures the multi-dimensional impact on a single New York City neighborhood during the Covid-19 pandemic, bringing together economic findings, reflections on health and mental health effects, and new perceptions of risk now enveloping routine daily activities. The Astoria Project draws responses from an evolving working-class neighborhood more reflective of middle-income Queens than the city’s deepest poverty and shows how broadly the economic impact has been felt in New York City. From professional salaried employees to low-income gig workers, and from those employed as day laborers or restaurant workers to Astoria residents in health care and public service, the pandemic has taken a toll on the economic, health, and psychological well-being of New Yorkers from all races and ethnicities and across the income spectrum.
A third of Astoria respondents were furloughed or laid off, with only 38 percent of these dislocated workers having returned to work either fulltime or parttime at the time of the survey. Two-thirds of all respondents reported that their employment status had been negatively impacted during the pandemic, through job-loss, furlough, lost pay, or reduced hours. More than three-quarters of all households making less than $50,000 per year saw negative employment impacts due to Covid. Despite the extension of Federal unemployment benefits to freelancers and many other workers not able to collect regular unemployment payments, more than one in 10 dislocated Astoria workers was unable to access unemployment insurance. Citywide, low-paid workers and workers of color have been hardest hit by pandemic disruptions, a trend that the Astoria survey confirms.
Indicative of the far-reaching Covid economic disruption, only 42 percent of dislocated workers think that they will be able to return to the same employer post-pandemic and 20 percent think they will have to shift to a new occupation.
With more than 30,000 deaths across the five boroughs, and unemployment levels and duration not seen since the Great Depression, the psychological disruption and economic aftermath of the disease will likely be long-lasting. Jobless workers report high uncertainty about the longevity of their health insurance and what kinds of jobs might await them after the pandemic recedes. Thirty-five percent of Astoria respondents reported feeling anxious nearly every day and mental health help was a reported top immediate need, alongside reemployment, cash assistance, and the extension of unemployment benefits. Forty-two percent report that they have or are considering having one adult in their household leave the workforce to care for family members at home. The Astoria Project survey lays out the economic and social needs of New Yorkers that the city will have to address in order to rebuild after Covid-19 as a more inclusive and equitable place for living, working, and thriving.