As a govt employee who owns a house in Brooklyn near Bill deBlasio’s houses, and whose family brings in substantially less than his, I only say that we did not qualify for need based aid because of the equity in our house. And rightly so, because ours has increased four times since we bought it so we have a huge amount of equity. Values in Brooklyn, particularly where de Blasio’s houses are, have skyrocketed over the last 15 years. A house that cost $400,000 in 2000 in our area now goes for $1.6 million.
I expect BDB does not want to get into a public discussion of this situation. He presents as middle class, which is fair. but his real estate is worth millions (and his salary is not chopped liver IMO). This may conflict with both his public image and his self image.
And yeah, you can live in NY on less than $250,000 a year. Especially if you were able to buy a nice little house in Brooklyn, back when houses cost less than that. Or two.