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Sad thing is, they choose that, no one HAS to live in a housing project. I wouldn't even consider living in a housing project, not in a billion years. If you look had enough you can find a reasonable rent that is affordable for your needs.
and it mustin' be that sad if there are waiting lists with thousands of names on them, and once they get in, they stay as if they are entitled to live there forever.
so tears, don't come to my eyes.
what makes me sad is that smart people that make a lot of money will spend over 2K to live in a studio apt in NYC, that's sad, and insane all at the same time.
and forget about these so called micro apartments, that is even worse than the tenements of the lower east side during the industrial revolution.
and to answer the question, No, I am not worried about the affordability of NYC in upcoming yeras, I could give a rats ass. I own a nice comfortable co-op, all paid off and I can get into the city in 2o minutes by car if need be.
I hope also that RC and RS become abolished.
Well, no one is forced to spend $2k on an apartment in NYC. That's not at all said. A lot of people just come to the city for their careers (school, grad school, work) and are not going to be here permanently. If another opportunity presents itself they can be on the next plane out of here. So its not sad as that person has plenty of options and if they chose to stay there its their choice.
The micro apartments are what's insane. As are 8 unrelated adults living together.
Affordable housing, both rentals and sales, is a major problem in NYC since prices of rentals and sales are being driven up by top income earners. A double edged side effect of being one of the most desirable and in demand cities in the world to live in/ near. Rental prices are what push out a lot of people to the burbs and lower cost cities since paying $3k a month for a 1 or 2 bedroom isn't very practical unless you make 6 figures.
At the rate rental prices are going 20-30 years from almost all Manhattan neighborhoods and nearby areas of the outer boroughs will not be affordable at all for the majority people who currently live there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NyWriterdude
The micro apartments are what's insane. As are 8 unrelated adults living together.
This. I was worried when I saw micro apartments being marketed at the City Museum of New York as chic, cool and stylish- for young couples and even 30 something's with kids. Makes me feel that there's no intent on them being affordable at all... just very small.
Ditto for living with 3- 4 roommates in Manhattan. Might be cool on sitcoms but after a certain age people start to realize where (a lot) of their money is going and do a cost benefit analysis of their living situation, especially in neighborhoods with inflated rental prices and QOL issues. Something's needs to give after this realization since they want to have enough savings for their long term financial goals.
The problem is that all the worrying about affordability has hurt affordability. The city/state have mucked with the real estate market so much (with rent regulation, landmarking, zoning, etc., etc.), that the market has become completely constipated. Upzone certain areas, and get rid of rent regulation and landmarking, so that developers can tear down and replace a lot of the old junk that needs to go anyway, and they'll end up overbuilding, create a glut, and the market will push down average rents.
But they're so worried about grandma (who should have moved to Florida twenty years ago) being able to keep her fourth floor walkup she had since 1973, that they can't replace the building with something that has three time the number of units.
And, yes, the upper end of the market will be the first part satisfied. But all the rules suppress development enough that the high end can't get saturated, and force the developers downmarket.
Really the only way to shield yourself from any concerns regarding affordability in NYC is to buy something, ANYTHING. It likely means you will be buying in an area less than ideal (to put it nicely), and make other commuting/housing compromises (welcome to the real world!), BUT the benefit is your housing costs are fixed, and almost every neighborhood in NYC today that is marginal has ALOT of upside. In 10 years, you will still be paying the same amount in mortgage, and your neighborhood will likely be better.
Other than that, you can marry someone in a rent controlled apt.
The problem is that all the worrying about affordability has hurt affordability. The city/state have mucked with the real estate market so much (with rent regulation, landmarking, zoning, etc., etc.), that the market has become completely constipated. Upzone certain areas, and get rid of rent regulation and landmarking, so that developers can tear down and replace a lot of the old junk that needs to go anyway, and they'll end up overbuilding, create a glut, and the market will push down average rents.
But they're so worried about grandma (who should have moved to Florida twenty years ago) being able to keep her fourth floor walkup she had since 1973, that they can't replace the building with something that has three time the number of units.
And, yes, the upper end of the market will be the first part satisfied. But all the rules suppress development enough that the high end can't get saturated, and force the developers downmarket.
They sure can replace a walk up with luxury housing. All they would have to do is buy out the rent controlled tenants. Its happened repeatedly in desirable neighborhoods.
Grandma shouldn't have moved to Florida 20 years ago. She should live wherever she wants to. Besides, if she stayed in her rent controlled apartment she may get bought out at a rather handsome rate, and then use all that money to go wherever she wants.
Getting rent of rent regulation will not make Manhattan affordable, its a luxury city and will always be more expensive than most places in the US. Also, tearing down walk ups and converted apartments into co-ops REDUCED the number of units available for rentals. With far fewer rentals available in some areas, of course rent prices go up.
OP, I'm right there with you. The slow realization that as a middle-class person I'll probably never be able to live when I was born -- not as an owner, not even as a renter -- is profoundly depressing, because NYC will always be "home" to me, no matter where I go. Not even if I made the penultimate sacrifice and never had children would it be realistic; my $50k income would be laughed out of the room if I looked for a mortgage at a bank, and co-ops don't like couples sharing those micro-apartments; they're for singles.
What they really need to do is expand and improve the subway system so that places that are physically close to the city don't feel so far away. Yes, I know, it will be a logistical and financial nightmare, but eventually it needs to happen. The Brooklyn-Staten Island subway: make it a reality. Connect SI with NJ by train. Connect upper Manhattan with NJ. More trains in Queens and on Long Island. Doing this will make those outer areas much more desirable and alleviate congestion in Manhattan.
What they really need to do is expand and improve the subway system so that places that are physically close to the city don't feel so far away. Yes, I know, it will be a logistical and financial nightmare, but eventually it needs to happen. The Brooklyn-Staten Island subway: make it a reality. Connect SI with NJ by train. Connect upper Manhattan with NJ. More trains in Queens and on Long Island. Doing this will make those outer areas much more desirable and alleviate congestion in Manhattan.
I don't think a Brooklyn/Staten Island subway will happen, at least not in my life time.
NYC will never be affordable so long as the crime is under control and government services are being provided. And if the crime & grime did come back, you probably wouldn't want to live here anyways so it's moot
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