$100,000 a year doesn’t go as far as you might think in NYC. a two bedroom apartment might rent for $3,000-$5,000/month. That’s the real problem in NYC IMO, the cost of living. Why is everything there so expensive? answer that and fix it and those salaries will come into line.
Wasn’t Jackie O’s rent controlled apartment something like the price you mentioned?
Space is limited, a large part of the housing stock is under rent control which drives up the price of all other property, and there is extremely strong demand. Also, all the goods you buy in NYC - from groceries, to clothes, to alcohol are expensively imported into the city in small, inefficient batches (usually by van or box truck), since there are no freight hubs or major shipping facilities in Manhattan - despite the fact that both these amenities would be very easy establish.
Housing in NYC should be real cheap - since they have rent control.....