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This really rings true for me in NYC. Any project get decried by Working Family partisans as being too pro developer, insufficiently full of affordable units, l

by ch4s3 4y ago

This really rings true for me in NYC. Any project get decried by Working Family partisans as being too pro developer, insufficiently full of affordable units, likely to cause gentrification(even in predominantly white neighborhoods), or doesn’t include enough “green jobs”. If they can’t stop it in review, they appeal to their council person to veto it. Failing that they call on the sainted congresswoman, PBUH, to intercede. If she leans on city council in public, the project dies. This is exactly how a locally popular rezoning of Industry City failed. These so called progressives are so myopic that they cement the status quo, and working people are being squeezed out of NYC as a result.

_fat_santa 4y ago
This video from Reason.com does a great job in explaining what is happening in these big cities[1]. I see it as the major downside to utopian thinking, you miss the bigger picture for the small, less significant details. They don't want an apartment project because of a litany of small, sometimes insignificant issues that get dragged out. I'm sure the activist feel righteous in thinking that they are keeping the big bad mega developer from building apartments that gentrify the community. This line of thinking misses big picture, if you want more affordable homes, you need more supply. On the one hand you can say that this is in fact a complex multi faceted issue and the activists may not be understanding the way their actions will backfire. But on the other hand you think there is no way, there is no way someone does not see the most basic of economic principles at work: supply and demand. [1]: https://reason.com/video/2018/12/27/san-francisco-mission-housing-crisis/ https://reason.com/video/2018/12/27/san-francisco-mission-ho...
- kcexn 4y ago
  It's shocking to me reading about some of the litigation involved in that case. While I can appreciate that there are interest groups that want to ensure affordable housing is built, all approvals should have come to a grinding halt until the special interest groups and the development company could come to a private contractual agreement. In the absence of an agreement, the appeals process should be one of arbitration, in which the court can enforce a compromise that makes neither party happy. Instead it seems like everyone is just submitting documents to approvals committees independent of talking to each other. And the judicial system is forced to deal with an overwhelming number of individual cases.
sheepybloke 4y ago
This reminds me of the Oakland A's new stadium project. It seems like the team wants to stay in Oakland, build a nice newer stadium and build a bunch of apartments (including low income) and amenities. The stadium is planned to be basically all privately funded as well. However, it's been caught up in battles where people want more affordable housing and concerns about gentrification and all this stuff, and so nothing is happening on the project. Because of this, the A's are sandbagging the team, the attendance is dropping at the current stadium, and the A's are looking to move to Las Vegas. It's really sad, because the A's are a huge part of the community, but now the community is practically kicking them out.

by ch4s3 4y ago

_fat_santa 4y ago

This video from Reason.com does a great job in explaining what is happening in these big cities[1]. I see it as the major downside to utopian thinking, you miss the bigger picture for the small, less significant details. They don't want an apartment project because of a litany of small, sometimes insignificant issues that get dragged out. I'm sure the activist feel righteous in thinking that they are keeping the big bad mega developer from building apartments that gentrify the community. This line of thinking misses big picture, if you want more affordable homes, you need more supply. On the one hand you can say that this is in fact a complex multi faceted issue and the activists may not be understanding the way their actions will backfire. But on the other hand you think there is no way, there is no way someone does not see the most basic of economic principles at work: supply and demand. [1]: https://reason.com/video/2018/12/27/san-francisco-mission-housing-crisis/ https://reason.com/video/2018/12/27/san-francisco-mission-ho...

kcexn 4y ago
It's shocking to me reading about some of the litigation involved in that case. While I can appreciate that there are interest groups that want to ensure affordable housing is built, all approvals should have come to a grinding halt until the special interest groups and the development company could come to a private contractual agreement. In the absence of an agreement, the appeals process should be one of arbitration, in which the court can enforce a compromise that makes neither party happy. Instead it seems like everyone is just submitting documents to approvals committees independent of talking to each other. And the judicial system is forced to deal with an overwhelming number of individual cases.

sheepybloke 4y ago

This reminds me of the Oakland A's new stadium project. It seems like the team wants to stay in Oakland, build a nice newer stadium and build a bunch of apartments (including low income) and amenities. The stadium is planned to be basically all privately funded as well. However, it's been caught up in battles where people want more affordable housing and concerns about gentrification and all this stuff, and so nothing is happening on the project. Because of this, the A's are sandbagging the team, the attendance is dropping at the current stadium, and the A's are looking to move to Las Vegas. It's really sad, because the A's are a huge part of the community, but now the community is practically kicking them out.