Corporate Cabbies, Others Tell of Economic Plight

Student Web site documents post-recession lives of average NY'ers

From Wall St. bankers to soccer moms, the financial crisis seems to have impacted everyone in New York City -- and 15 enterprising student journalists are out to tell their stories.

DownsizeNYC.com, a Web site run by students at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism, follows the journeys of average New Yorkers hit by the economic slump.

In more than a dozen Web videos, including "Save Money by Growing Hair" and "Simple Size Me," the videos highlight how New Yorkers are coping in uncertain times.

"Pink Slip, Yellow Taxi" tells of a former UBS Wealth Management employee who now drives a taxi."The New Robber Barons?" showcases several interviews with unapologetic hedge fund managers and "Downsized Day Job" offers insight into the recent surge in volunteerism sweeping across the city.

The 3- to 7-minute videos that comprise the project explore "not only the statistics but also the sensibilities of the economic crisis," according to a statement on the Web site.

Executive Producer Hannah Yi said she and her classmates chose the theme of economic downsizing because it was "really relevant to so many average New Yorkers."

"We wanted to explore all the different aspects of how people have been affected -- aspects people may not have heard of before," she said.

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