New York City mayor hopeful Andrew Yang fled 'too small' apartment during pandemic

New York City mayor hopeful Andrew Yang’s campaign, expected to be formally announced this week, has hit a speedbump after he said he found his Manhattan home too small to work from during the pandemic.

Mr Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate, has come under fire after admitting that he and his family relocated from the city during the spring to have more space.

“We live in a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. And so, like, can you imagine trying to have two kids on virtual school in a two-bedroom apartment, and then trying to do work yourself?” Mr Yang said in an interview with the New York Times.

The 45-year-old entrepreneur has a two-bedroom flat in Hell’s Kitchen and a larger residence in the small town of New Paltz in upstate New York’s Hudson Valley, according to reports.

Asked by the NYT to respond to voters who expect their future mayor to have stayed in the city in its darkest moments, Mr. Yang suggested that his location was not relevant to his work at the time, and that New Yorkers would prioritize plans to move the city forward.

But his actions have highlighted a growing wealth divide in the city, with those who could afford to leave during the worst of the pandemic doing so, and those who could not left behind to suffer.

Elsewhere, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced he will move ahead with legalising recreational marijuana use in an effort to raise tax revenue following the coronavirus pandemic.

New York State is facing an estimated shortfall of $14.9 billion (£11 billion) in tax revenue this year, brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak.

"Not only will legalizing and regulating the adult-use cannabis market provide the opportunity to generate much-needed revenue, but it also allows us to directly support the individuals and communities that have been most harmed by decades of cannabis prohibition," he said.