5 ms·

I agree with most of this, but "concessions for low-income housing" don't actually achieve the goal of making housing more affordable, because they penalize dev

I agree with most of this, but "concessions for low-income housing" don't actually achieve the goal of making housing more affordable, because they penalize developers for developing. The effect is to redistribute a small quantity of housing to the lucky poor--and I mean "lucky" because the waiting list for affordable housing in NYC is years long--without voters really feeling like their wealth is being redistributed. But I live here and $3000 is redistributed from my bank account every month; unfortunately, it is redistributed to a rich landlord rather than the deserving.

LordKano 11y ago
The reality of NYC housing, real estate and taxation are vastly different from what I have experienced. As someone living in Pittsburgh, $3000 a month in rent strikes me as ridiculous. For that kind of money, one could have a McMansion in an upscale suburb 20-30 minutes away from downtown.
- allworknoplay 11y ago
  The unfortunate reality is that NYC was not as expensive until fairly recently, and lots of long-time residents have been utterly priced out of their long-time home.
  - CPLX 11y ago
    When I moved to NYC sixteen years ago I heard people say that same exact thing a lot. I am pretty sure sixteen years before that people were also saying it.
    - wwweston 11y ago
      And it may well have been true at each point; wage stagnation goes back 50 years...
- cddotdotslash 11y ago
  Every single time rent in NYC or San Francisco is brought up, everyone makes comments like "I only pay $500 a month for my ten-bedroom house in Kansas!" And the reason that rent in NYC is higher than rent in Kansas or Pittsburgh, etc. is simply because more people want to live there. It's simple supply and demand.
  - LordKano 11y ago
    It's more than simple supply and demand. It's artificially low supply and increased demand. Sweetheart deals for luxury housing and rent controlled housing mean that developers are going to put more time, energy and money into bringing upper income housing into NYC while the middle and lower income people are left with fewer options. Because of the geography and municipal structure of the area, middle and upper-middle income housing is doing quite well here.
    - sukilot 11y ago
      NYC has the highest pop density of just about any city in the world. It has extremely high demand, due to its celebrity status making it a magnet for the whole world.
      - LordKano 11y ago
        That high demand coupled with artificially low supply has led to exorbitant pricing in the NYC housing market. Just because we can explain why it happens doesn't make those prices any less exorbitant. Pricing is exorbitant in other facets of life in NYC as well but that is a separate discussion.
  - rtpg 11y ago
    well it's restricted supply, especially in SF. If more high-rise apartments were built in downtown SF (and there's demand, but just too much pushback from local officials), this debate would probably not be happening at all. It's not like SF is crowded, it's just that we've built really bad buildings for holding a lot of people.
- bobhaigler 11y ago
  The population of Pittsburgh has been declining for over 50 years. It's likely to have a lower cost for housing since demand is disappearing. SF/NYC have the opposite problem of limited supply of housing and increasing population.
  - LordKano 11y ago
    In the city proper, absolutely but many of the suburbs have been growing. Particularly in the last 10-20 years.

LordKano 11y ago

The reality of NYC housing, real estate and taxation are vastly different from what I have experienced. As someone living in Pittsburgh, $3000 a month in rent strikes me as ridiculous. For that kind of money, one could have a McMansion in an upscale suburb 20-30 minutes away from downtown.

allworknoplay 11y ago
The unfortunate reality is that NYC was not as expensive until fairly recently, and lots of long-time residents have been utterly priced out of their long-time home.
- CPLX 11y ago
  When I moved to NYC sixteen years ago I heard people say that same exact thing a lot. I am pretty sure sixteen years before that people were also saying it.
  - wwweston 11y ago
    And it may well have been true at each point; wage stagnation goes back 50 years...
cddotdotslash 11y ago
Every single time rent in NYC or San Francisco is brought up, everyone makes comments like "I only pay $500 a month for my ten-bedroom house in Kansas!" And the reason that rent in NYC is higher than rent in Kansas or Pittsburgh, etc. is simply because more people want to live there. It's simple supply and demand.
- LordKano 11y ago
  It's more than simple supply and demand. It's artificially low supply and increased demand. Sweetheart deals for luxury housing and rent controlled housing mean that developers are going to put more time, energy and money into bringing upper income housing into NYC while the middle and lower income people are left with fewer options. Because of the geography and municipal structure of the area, middle and upper-middle income housing is doing quite well here.
  - sukilot 11y ago
    NYC has the highest pop density of just about any city in the world. It has extremely high demand, due to its celebrity status making it a magnet for the whole world.
    - LordKano 11y ago
      That high demand coupled with artificially low supply has led to exorbitant pricing in the NYC housing market. Just because we can explain why it happens doesn't make those prices any less exorbitant. Pricing is exorbitant in other facets of life in NYC as well but that is a separate discussion.
- rtpg 11y ago
  well it's restricted supply, especially in SF. If more high-rise apartments were built in downtown SF (and there's demand, but just too much pushback from local officials), this debate would probably not be happening at all. It's not like SF is crowded, it's just that we've built really bad buildings for holding a lot of people.
bobhaigler 11y ago
The population of Pittsburgh has been declining for over 50 years. It's likely to have a lower cost for housing since demand is disappearing. SF/NYC have the opposite problem of limited supply of housing and increasing population.
- LordKano 11y ago
  In the city proper, absolutely but many of the suburbs have been growing. Particularly in the last 10-20 years.