Newly-released data from the U.S. Census Bureau finds that Syracuse is among the top 30 American cities for poverty rates, 29th to be exact. More than a third of its residents and nearly half of its children live below the federal poverty line.
It's not the first time a report has underlined the grim situation in Syracuse. Just a year ago, the Century Foundation said Syracuse had the highest concentration of blacks andHispanicsin poverty in the country.
Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner said it's up to the government to help ameliorate the situation.
"These are people who have been left behind by the economic recovery and it needs better, smarter public policy to help lift these families out of poverty and give them an economic opportunity," Miner said." In this economy, there are few people who have done very, very well. We need new policies in the government to make sure that we have economic prosperity shared by all, not just the top one percent."
Miner said a recently signed ordinance may help cut the city's poverty rate by putting locals to work. It requires contractors to hire city residents for at least 20 percent of the jobs on projects worth over 100-thousand dollars.
Meanwhile, a recently developed Syracuse anti-poverty coalition is gathering input from residents on how private and public organizations can reduce poverty.