My beef with the city's residential development...

[WestburynLI to BronxnNYC]

Originally Posted by SobroGuy

I want to bring a little does of reality as to this argument. Areas that were formerly vacant lots, or 5 story buildings (Tenements) and then built to the lower density in the 90s, for example, were built for 1 reason, and 1 reason only: to stabilize the nieghborhoods. In areas like the South Bronx, where you will find many of these suburban style homes, the areas were completely decimated, and there was NO demand for housing for anything other than the extremely poor. So the city had a simple choice: We can continue to build 5 story building (like the traditional tenements), and fill them with the only people that wanted to live there (the indigent), and thus have the entire swath of the south bronx an overcrowded slum, which would make the area WORSE, not better. OR they can offer 2 and 3 family homes at affordable prices to keep the few working/middle class people (and their money) in the area, to provide homeownership to the community, and to diversify the economic/social base of the community, ultimately stablizing it for further improvement. The homes of the 90s were literally given away, built for $90,000, with $5,000 down....just to start the process of salvaging the community. Had they crammed more dense housing AT THAT TIME, you would see the South Bronx as a horrendously crowded, filthy, crime ridden slum today....fortunately that did not happen. Today it stands as an example of how to rebuild ans stabilize communities, with a diverse housing stock, diversifying income/social classes, increasing green space, and grass roots organizations. Sure alot of the housing is ugly and out of character with the community, but you are forgetting that the goal was to STABILIZE the community, and eliminate the vacant lots and abandoned buildings, not to build middle/upper class housing for those with a penchant for historically accurate housing and "filled with character" for the discerning eye.

I knew you would be the first with the correct answer. Just wish they wouldnt try to make them look nice, when anyone can clearly tell they wont be standing in 20 years.

[vitalove]

In the outer boroughs, you need parking. There isn't a way to get around that as most nabes in the outer boroughs are spread out and therefore shopping (and sometimes transportation) is further away than the nabes in Manhattan. Most homeowners demand parking for this reason and these developers know that in order to sell the homes they will have to provide housing.

Sobro answered the rest.

[bmwguydc]

The only other thing to remember is that the Fedders phenomenon is not only in a neighborhood that's being rebuilt, such as parts of the South Bronx, but traditionally middle class and upper middle class neighborhoods have also been besieged with these slab-sided brick, two to three story monstrosities. In those areas it's all about maximum profit for in-fill development, not about stabilizing a neighborhood or filling a vacant lot.

[SobroGuy]

This is true..but this is a product of the recent housing runup...as developers were looking to make a fast buck (like everyone else) by building anywhere they can. However, historically (over the last 20 years) these homes were built in struggling communities to stabilize them and keep the working/middle class (and their money) in place.