It's Tough Out There for a Middle-Class New Yorker
Income levels that would enable a very comfortable lifestyle in other locales barely suffice to provide the basics in New York City, says the the Center for an Urban Future in a new report that merely provides data to back up what all city residents already new. The group estimates that the same quality of…
Income levels that would enable a very comfortable lifestyle in other locales barely suffice to provide the basics in New York City, says the the Center for an Urban Future in a new report that merely provides data to back up what all city residents already new. The group estimates that the same quality of life that costs $50,000 a year in Houston will run you $123,322 in the Big Apple; San Francisco is a distant second at $95,489 with LA at $80,583 and Philadelphia at $69,196. In addition, many New Yorkers put up with commutes that double the national average of 25 minutes. One Brooklyn Bridge Park even gets an unnamed reference: “If it wasn’t already clear that the cost of living in New York City is greatly out-of-whack with the rest of the country, it certainly became apparent in early 2008 when a new condo development in Brooklyn Heights began selling individual parking spaces—not apartments, parking spaces—for as much as $280,000.” So it’s no surprise that the report finds that many people have been giving up on New York. In fact, twice as many people with bachelor’s degrees left New York in 2005-2006 than in the prior two-year period. So what’s to do: Among other recommendations, the report suggests diversifying the economy, focus on basic infrastructure and quality of life issues rather than building flashy new projects and increase housing stock that is affordable to the middle class.
And only a girl in Bay Ridge would consider ISAAC Mizrahi a name to be dropped in the first place.
BRG, is there a reason you are such a pill?
Go pick on slopefarm or others who actually DID name drop.
There’s a word for girls like you, but my mother taught me not to use that word.
C U Next Tuesday!
– http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/grammarian.htm
A good name dropper should always spell their celebrity ‘friend’s names correctly especially ‘granted they work in the business’
‘Isak’
It’s a good thing New york hasn’t suffered any blows to any major industries lately, whew!
My three most direct celeb sightings in NYC.
1. Sam Waterston, in costume for L&O (suit, trenchcoat), walking down Chambers St. near the Muni building a few years back. I kept thinking “I was on a case with that lawyer, who is he? What case was it? What firm is he with?” He was halfway down the block before I realized who he was.
2. Sarah Jessica Parker, pre-SITC, in a 6th Street curry house, two table over.
3. Browsed in a hole in the wall East Village record shop in 1985 with Michael Jackson (during tail end of Thriller hype) and a bunch of bodyguards. His chalkstripe suit was 3 sizes too big, his skin gray, and he was looking for some rare Ray Charles imports.
Back when we rented further north in the Slope, my wife used to see John Turturro yelling into his cell phone all the time. My parents once saw Springsteen and Patti toasting their anniversary in a theater district Italian restaurant. Can’t believe they (my parents) didn’t send over a bottle of wine. Oh, and I vaguely suspect I was in a pick-up basketball game with Giancarlo Esposito about 20 years ago at the Prospect Park Y, but I am not at all sure.
I think that’s it. I am sure I’ve seen tons of celebrities that I didn’t recognize.
Just was on Yahoo.com and this was the featured story with headline “An overpriced middle class” and subtitle “It takes a shocking salary to achieve “middle-class” status in New York City”
The link goes to a daily news article with a great URL:
http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/02/05/2009-02-05_nyc_so_costly_you_need_to_earn_six_figur.html
Let’s face it: comparing Brownstone Brooklyn to Houston is inane. Houston is the Enron of urban centers… rather than comparing apples-to-oranges, this is a case of apples-to-road kill armadillos.
As a Texas-ex I can assure you that Houston is indeed a soulless hellscape which would be utterly uninhabitable if not for the interstate highway system & the injection of massive amounts of air conditioning – two things destined to go the way of the dodo bird in the near-future.
Houston may have a few pedestrian enclaves, but it’s mainly the kind of place where entire neighborhoods are built without sidewalks. And as for public transportation, it’s strictly for the hired help. Just like Atlanta, Houston has a totally non-sustainable city plan: a weak center core enveloped by a web of exurban sprawl. This design is flawed & cannot be fixed.
And let’s not forget that the current plunge in oil prices has dealt a major blow to Houston’s biggest industry – one reason that it’s a famous boom-and-bust city.
But putting all this aside, why am I wasting time commenting on this? You couldn’t pay me to live in Houston or most other cities, which is EXACTLY why I live in NYC!
I was at Elektra as well.
The production of Orfeo was a lot better last season than this year’s production.
I didn’t mind the Mark Morris Dance Company but wasn’t a huge fan of the Isak Mizrahi costumes at all.