Actually the author is more nuanced than saying to build "some" luxury housing. NYC is a special case all of its own with a bunch of factors specific to it. I'

Actually the author is more nuanced than saying to build "some" luxury housing. NYC is a special case all of its own with a bunch of factors specific to it. I'd say the biggest are: 1. Construction costs are so high that it's largely the same cost to build luxury condos than mid-priced condos 2. It's more profitable to build luxury condos, at leas tin Manhattan. 3. Globalization of property markets and the rise of the ultra-wealthy mean that a lot of real estate is just the ultra-wealthy parking money in homes they might visit for 2-3 days a year if at all. That's not just foreign money either (although Chinese, Arabians and especially Russian money seeking refuge in real estate in the developed world is obviously a factor). Steve Jobs owned one of the penthouses in the San Remo building on Central Park West for 20 years before selling it to Bono (or U2), having never set foot in it. 3. Bloomberg's "attract the billionaires" mantra mean that luxury condos, even after property tax abatements end, are the lowest in the city as a percentage of property value. This makes parking money in NYC more attractive. 4. The skyrocketing cost of insurance of construction projects [1]. [1] https://www.constructiondive.com/news/critics-blame-nycs-scaffold-law-for-rocketing-insurance-fees/529039/ https://www.constructiondive.com/news/critics-blame-nycs-sca...