Drastic inequality is by no means new in New York. Jacob A. Riis was called a muckraker after he chose to spotlight the city’s poverty at the turn of the 20th century by photographing it. Here: Sweatshop in Hester Street, 1889-1890. (Photo by Jacob A. Riis/Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Roger William Riis)

A woman jumps in the air as she poses for a photo during New Year celebrations in the Manhattan borough of New York, January 1, 2016. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Revellers take part in New Year celebrations in Coin, near Malaga, southern Spain, January 1, 2016. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)

Visitors at the National Zoo check out a parrotfish made from found waste from the ocean in Washington, DC on May 23, 2016. The artwork can be seen at the National Zoo until September 5th. (Photo by Keith Lane/The Washington Post)

A model on the catwalk for the Tom Ford show at New York fashion week in New York, USA on September 6, 2017. (Photo by Swan Gallet/Shutterstock)

Revelers march during the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, Tuesday, October 31, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/AP Photo)

Fireworks illuminate the Ampera Bridge during a New Year's Eve celebrations in Palembang, Indonesia on January 1, 2020. (Photo by Muhammad Tohir/Sijori Images via ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstoc)

A man stands by an installation depicting “2019” in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia on December 17, 2018. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)