Stuck in the Middle
An article in this week’s Crain’s looks at how real estate prices and taxes are making the city increasingly unaffordable for the middle class. The rising cost of housing, in particular, has meant that families making between $80,000 and $150,000 a year are finding it more difficult than ever to make ends meet. Higher real…
An article in this week’s Crain’s looks at how real estate prices and taxes are making the city increasingly unaffordable for the middle class. The rising cost of housing, in particular, has meant that families making between $80,000 and $150,000 a year are finding it more difficult than ever to make ends meet. Higher real estate costs in Brooklyn, for example, have put the borough out of reach for many middle-income earners. A person profiled in the article who makes $60,000 a year looked all over Brooklyn before deciding to rent in Astoria. “Five years ago, [landlords] in Park Slope would have come to you,” he says. Interestingly, the story also notes that the city’s recent prosperity has contributed to a widespread sense of entitlement, thus making people believe that their incomes should stretch farther. “People used to squeeze kids into one bedroom; now everybody thinks every kid should get his own bedroom,” says Nicole Gelinas, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Unaffordable NY: Tough Choices at $150,000 [Crain’s]
Photo by ultraclay!
“the poor neighborhoods WAS ok”
“you HAS these asshats”
Jeeze what a loser you are.
The rich won’t flee the city, but only the rich and the poor will inhabit nyc and most of them will come from somewhere other than this city.
My commute is just under 20 minutes – I must close to the Bloomberg wealth categorey.
“sad commentary – The only “sense of entitlement” here is people who beleive they are entitled to live in prime neighborhoods despite their lower income levels. It is not cheap to live in the best neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Manhattan – so what? How is that different than anywhere else in the country?”
The poor neighborhoods was OK until the fucking Mutants pushed the poor and middle class out!! You has these asshats moving in and jacking up prices. Plus inflation from this Mutant Real Estate Bubble is killing everyone. But, help is on the way! When this shits implodes, maybe the Zombies will get the fuck out of here and we can get our “Hood” back.
The What
Someday this war is gonna end..
BTW The Stock Market has given back the gains of 2007. We are is crash mode. 2008 (Fuck You Year).
“It’s not cheap to live in the best neighborhoods…”
I’d agree if we were talking about historically expensive areas, such as the Upper East Side or Brooklyn Heights. But Bed Stuy? Crown Heights? The best neighborhoods are now defined as anything within a short walking distance to a subway station.
We are now seeing a reversal of the 50’s and 60’s when “white flight” sent families to the burbs. Pretty soon a person’s wealth will be measured not by how big his house is but by how short his commute is.
‘It is not cheap to live in the best neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Manhattan’
The best neighborhoods in Brooklyn should not include Bed Sty, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, etc., Which are unaffordable for the middle class.
NYC is going to be full of the super rich and the poor. The middle class will flee to the suburbs, leaving areas of NYC riddled with crime, drugs, burnt out buildings. Does this sound familar.
In support of housing for Middle Class New York
9:27 – Did you mean “South Shore of Nassau County” in your comment?
If so, I agree these areas are ripe to absorb the “Entitled” middle class priced out of the city.
There is a shift going on from those with higher incomes living father away from the center of the city to those with higher incomes living closer in. That is a good bit of what is going on.
There was a time when physicians lived on the Grand Concourse, and middle class people would choose to live in Canrasie and not Williamsburg. The middle class could afford the Concourse and Canarsie today, but do not want it. Post housing bust, expect middle class areas like the south short of Nassau County to be very affordable.
sad commentary – The only “sense of entitlement” here is people who beleive they are entitled to live in prime neighborhoods despite their lower income levels. It is not cheap to live in the best neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Manhattan – so what? How is that different than anywhere else in the country?