Can the Mayor's Housing Plan Stop Gentrification's March East?
The mayor’s pastel-colored vision to develop East New York, above, with thousands of new units of mixed-income housing could backfire, making the area and others like it less affordable, said neighborhood residents and housing advocates quoted in a New York Times story: “Around New York, people who have watched luxury buildings and wealthy newcomers remake…
The mayor’s pastel-colored vision to develop East New York, above, with thousands of new units of mixed-income housing could backfire, making the area and others like it less affordable, said neighborhood residents and housing advocates quoted in a New York Times story: “Around New York, people who have watched luxury buildings and wealthy newcomers remake their streets are balking at the growth Mr. de Blasio envisions, saying the influx of market-rate apartments called for in the city’s plans could gut neighborhoods, not preserve them.”
The mayor’s affordable housing plan was the centerpiece of his State of the City speech yesterday, but it was light on specifics.
The Wall Street Journal and the Post also ran stories critical of the mayor’s plan. Some key points: Rents are unlikely to be low enough for the truly poor, union labor will increase costs, and locals will resist tall towers, said the Journal. An opinion piece in the Post called the plan “far fetched” and impractical. Residents fear an influx of higher-income newcomers, but “stagnation, not gentrification, is the more likely result,” according to the Post, because returns in low-income areas won’t be enough to offset the cost of the subsidized units.
Others, such as the pro-development New York YIMBY, say the mayor’s housing plan is sound, but more units are needed to change the supply and demand equation. We tend to think housing in New York City is like the highway system: The more you build, the more traffic increases. Could developers build so many units they exceed demand and cause rents to plummet, as happened in New York City for a brief few years in the early 20th century? (See the book “The Great Rent Wars” for details.)
The New York Times story also devoted many inches to the fight in PLG over a plan to rezone currently sleepy Empire Boulevard to allow housing there, although it’s not technically part of the mayor’s plan for rezoning for mandatory inclusionary housing.
That rezoning, the rezoning of East New York and other areas to build or preserve 200,000 subsidized units and 160,000 market-rate ones, will start this spring. That could mean as early as April!
What do you think is the answer?
Some See Risk in de Blasio’s Bid to Add Housing [NY Times]
Opinion: De Blasio’s Housing Plan Is a Blueprint for Fantasyland [NY Post]
De Blasio Housing Push Faces Hurdles [WSJ]
Image by Department of City Planning
I wish everyone would stop with the stupid labels and buzz words.
Elizabeth you are genius…
“You have no clue whatsoever what would have happened were banks not bailed out. ”
Nothing has changed, there’re still ‘Too big to fail’ and without daily intervention for The Central Banking System, the whole thing would collapse. Maybe if we stated to put Bankers in Jail all the nonsense would stop. You rail against “Welfare Queens” then let’s rail against “Wall Street Welfare”. You’re Welcome!
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The What (I’m about that action, Boss)
Someday this war is gonna end…
This plan if they continue with the humiliating time consuming way of applying for “affordable” housing will back fire.
The hardworking low income people we hope this program is supposed to help, does not. Simply because of the humiliating long winded, exhaustive process of applying, they simply do not have the time to apply and re-apply and update and line up here and go there…. and on and on…. they are simply too busy working and no, many of them do not have credit (bad) because they cannot afford to borrow money. Plus many come from cultures where if, you cannot afford it, you do not want or need it. So borrowing money is not a part of their culture. Their income is not always consistent, but they will always make it….they have & they do from 2 & 3 jobs a week, but that does not fit on the computer system of the application!
The Low Income application process has got to change.
I became a Legend by annoying Muppets like you!
Now say “I see what you did there”.
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The What
Someday this war is gonna end…
Aren’t liberals often mockingly called “progressive” by conservatives who think that liberals are in fact too progressive? And aren’t the gays and urban pioneers who are usually the impetus for gentrification liberal?
Don’t forget the blocks and blocks of cheap brick single family homes south of Pitkin ave. built in the 90’s. They could have at least built them as 2 family homes so homeowners can get some rental income, instead the land is underutilized. The same kind of cheapo box houses were built throughout the South Bronx as well, it’s sad how cheaply they were allowed to be built.
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.817998,-73.909046,3a,75y,134.01h,90.88t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sJZCayQBcnz-rEVcuf3hoPQ!2e0
Specifically how is DiBlasio’s plan going to help the middle class? Once you have even a dollar over the low income amount to apply for the low income housing he is proposing, you are out of luck! This is going to move towards TWO CITIES quickly – only the rich and poor can afford. No middle class family will be able to afford to stay here. DiBlasio’s plan is not the solution we need to keep the middle class (or even the upper middle class). This city is going to become even more divided. How is DiB going to address the problem with the developers scamming long time owners and then turn around and flip and stop all of those foreign investors using these properties to shelter their money here without even paying the City?
Like Wall Street Bailouts?!
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…