4 ms·

Can’t upvote you enough. An empty commercial space is also not bringing in any sales tax. No employees implies no income tax. Etc.

TuringNYC 9y ago
Not only that, but empty spaces attract bad things. Bustle and foot traffic are good things. This is one reason why it is nice to have a mix of commercial storefronts (banks, cafes, etc), especially things that are open in the evenings...it ensures a commercial area that doesnt turn into a ghosttown at night. Growing up in Brooklyn in the 80s, I remember snaking across busy side streets and back-and-forth across the main street to walk along the well-occupied areas. Stumble into a dark corner or and you could get jumped. Much of her writing is age-old and not directly relevant now, but the concepts life on. All these are well argued in Jane Jacobs' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_and_Life_of_Great_American_Cities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_and_Life_of_Great_Am...
- cm2187 9y ago
  In London, it is quite common for real estate companies to own a whole neighborood. They are usually quite smart at preserving the character of the area by taking a lower rent from a local shop/coffee shop/pub, and reaping the reward from higher residential rents as more people want to live in this area. Marylebone is a prime example.
  - dtf 9y ago
    The evening standard has recently started promoting a made-up place called "North Mayfair". I assume it's part of the same strategy.
  - geezerjay 9y ago
    Shopping malls also manage their occupancy by accepting low-rent complementary services next to their cash cow occupants. This sort of strategy is also followed at municipality levels such as the Netherlands' ABC location policy.
Shivetya 9y ago
You should not up vote it even once. Because next it will be, "the wrong business is using the space" and not generating enough revenue. This is how we ended up with condemnations of private property. Someone decided that it could be put to better use, as in generate more taxes. Kelo vs New London ring any bells? Simply put. Once a foot in the door of abusing the rights of private property owner's is there, there is no end in sight of justifications to come
- lr4444lr 9y ago
  And lest people think you're exaggerating about how the administration thinks, this recent gem from our current mayor: "What’s been hardest is the way our legal system is structured to favor private property. I think people all over this city, of every background, would like to have the city government be able to determine which building goes where, how high it will be, who gets to live in it, what the rent will be. I think there’s a socialistic impulse, which I hear every day, in every kind of community, that they would like things to be planned in accordance to their needs. And I would, too. Unfortunately, what stands in the way of that is hundreds of years of history that have elevated property rights and wealth to the point that that’s the reality that calls the tune on a lot of development."[0] [0] http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/09/bill-de-blasio-in-conversation.html http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/09/bill-de-blasio-...
  - sidlls 9y ago
    Seems like a good idea to me, actually. We need more socialism, as a rule, not more capitalism.
    - tnae90rnt2 9y ago
      Call me cynical, but it doesn't sound like socialism to me. It sounds like an oligarchy anointing themselves the rule makers for a new segment of the population. Because it won't be "the people" making the decisions, it will be "these particular people."
- pavel_lishin 9y ago

TuringNYC 9y ago

Not only that, but empty spaces attract bad things. Bustle and foot traffic are good things. This is one reason why it is nice to have a mix of commercial storefronts (banks, cafes, etc), especially things that are open in the evenings...it ensures a commercial area that doesnt turn into a ghosttown at night. Growing up in Brooklyn in the 80s, I remember snaking across busy side streets and back-and-forth across the main street to walk along the well-occupied areas. Stumble into a dark corner or and you could get jumped. Much of her writing is age-old and not directly relevant now, but the concepts life on. All these are well argued in Jane Jacobs' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_and_Life_of_Great_American_Cities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_and_Life_of_Great_Am...

cm2187 9y ago
In London, it is quite common for real estate companies to own a whole neighborood. They are usually quite smart at preserving the character of the area by taking a lower rent from a local shop/coffee shop/pub, and reaping the reward from higher residential rents as more people want to live in this area. Marylebone is a prime example.
- dtf 9y ago
  The evening standard has recently started promoting a made-up place called "North Mayfair". I assume it's part of the same strategy.
- geezerjay 9y ago
  Shopping malls also manage their occupancy by accepting low-rent complementary services next to their cash cow occupants. This sort of strategy is also followed at municipality levels such as the Netherlands' ABC location policy.

Shivetya 9y ago

You should not up vote it even once. Because next it will be, "the wrong business is using the space" and not generating enough revenue. This is how we ended up with condemnations of private property. Someone decided that it could be put to better use, as in generate more taxes. Kelo vs New London ring any bells? Simply put. Once a foot in the door of abusing the rights of private property owner's is there, there is no end in sight of justifications to come

lr4444lr 9y ago
And lest people think you're exaggerating about how the administration thinks, this recent gem from our current mayor: "What’s been hardest is the way our legal system is structured to favor private property. I think people all over this city, of every background, would like to have the city government be able to determine which building goes where, how high it will be, who gets to live in it, what the rent will be. I think there’s a socialistic impulse, which I hear every day, in every kind of community, that they would like things to be planned in accordance to their needs. And I would, too. Unfortunately, what stands in the way of that is hundreds of years of history that have elevated property rights and wealth to the point that that’s the reality that calls the tune on a lot of development."[0] [0] http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/09/bill-de-blasio-in-conversation.html http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/09/bill-de-blasio-...
- sidlls 9y ago
  Seems like a good idea to me, actually. We need more socialism, as a rule, not more capitalism.
  - tnae90rnt2 9y ago
    Call me cynical, but it doesn't sound like socialism to me. It sounds like an oligarchy anointing themselves the rule makers for a new segment of the population. Because it won't be "the people" making the decisions, it will be "these particular people."
pavel_lishin 9y ago