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 area of williamsburg off the lorimer and graham stops are not very pretty, to say the least.
talking up maccarren park?
um….you are REALLY comparng that dustbowl of a b-level university looking quad to prospect park?
5:54
get the hell out of park slope (seriously). it’s not for you. if these people bug you now, it’ll just get worse. it’s not the be all end all of hoods. i’ve lived all over manhattan and brooklyn including PS for a while.
move to the lorimer or graham ave. L stop areas in williamsburg – was italian, now more gentrified. amazing school there: PS132. great family community. you can definitely buy a nice place. check out the yahoo group: brooklynbabyhui. see how wonderful the family community is in williamsburg. you’ll make tons of friends and you will not miss park slope for a minute. one trip down Union to shop at Sunac and then eat at Dumont should seal the deal. if not then check out cheeks for bakery or fette seu for barbecue on metropolitan. (after you take the kids to mccarran park – great new running track and not impossibly crowded playground).
plus, you’ll shave so much time off your commute that you’ll really have to ask yourself what you were doing wasting all your time commuting for – a rental??
“We have $250K HHI, minimal debt and about $150K in the bank. We still can’t afford to buy in Park Slope (we rent there now and we’re committed to staying in the nabe.) I’m not talking a brownstone, or even half a brownstone, I’m talking a real two bedroom coop in the right school district.”
Talk about a sense of entitlement! Wait, let me get out my violin!
5:54–there is not one “right school district” in Park Slope. There are several good schools, and one that everyone parrots as the “best,” mainly because the richest families send their kids there. There’s your sense of entitlement right there.
Save some money, buy in another school zone, and put your $250K income (and time) toward supporting the PTA.
We have $250K HHI, minimal debt and about $150K in the bank. We still can’t afford to buy in Park Slope (we rent there now and we’re committed to staying in the nabe.) I’m not talking a brownstone, or even half a brownstone, I’m talking a real two bedroom coop in the right school district. And as far as sense of entitlement goes, I totally agree with the article. Our friends all own, and they want their kids to have their own rooms (our kids share and will probably share their whole lives) washer/dryers in the apts, all own cars, etc. What I find most shocking is how they all bought lovely, perfectly livable places that needed minor touch ups that could be done over time, but instead they all renovated before moving in. When did everyone get so rich and where was I when they were handing out the money? It’s all very depressing.
Paris Deux (Paris II)? I got a law degree from that place. NYC is no Paris!
They’re both pretty cool places, I’m sure everyine agrees. I think BrooklynCouch was simply itching to lett us all know he/she earned a law degree. In Paris.
i wouldn’t live in paris if you paid me.
nyc is nothing like paris.
nyc is much more alive.
Paris Deux (Paris II)? I got a law degree from that place. NYC is no Paris!
“The commute from Kensington or Ditmas to Park Slope would be propably be 45 minutes Door to Door.
There are no trains that go directly. Depending where the school is, she might have to take the bus.”
ummm…kensington is one stop on the F train past park slope. are you really that ignorant?
i could walk to kensington or ditmas from my park slope home in less than 45 mins.
i commute to the upper upper west side and it takes 45 minutes.
you have no idea what you’re talking about.