3 thoughts on “Problem Memorandum: Lack of affordable housing in NYC”
Hi Cicely,
I enjoyed reading this and found it extremely interesting because I personally know people facing homelessness. Affordable housing is imperative for people of New York because we are from diverse backgrounds and parts of the world. Some of us may know immigrant families paying rent that is way above their budget but they have no choice. They need a place for their family and the only way to avoid the streets is to pay the hefty rent. We also have immigrant families who cannot afford their rent and may be facing eviction. This is not only stressful but something that hinders other parts of their lives too.
I like how you presented the negative effects of not having affordable housing. Landlords are continuously raising prices because they know they can attract wealthier folks. Not having affordable housing definitely forces people to compromise on other necessary expenses such as food or clothes. This also makes a difference in their children’s education and mental state. Children shouldn’t face the problem of homelessness at such an early stage but some are forced to go through this experience.
I also believe that gentrification is a contributing factor to lack of affordable housing. Gentrification is a prime problem that I didn’t quite see growing up in the Lower East Side. My father had an apartment there and the neighborhood was filled with people from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. The Lower East Side is no longer filled with diverse faces and diverse businesses. Developers transformed the area by building new buildings only wealthy people could afford. I can no longer relate to this neighborhood because it no longer belongs to different groups of people. The people I knew could no longer afford the rent and were forced to move out.
The problem memo mentions how 12 million renters/homeowners pay 50 percent of their annual incomes for housing which is disturbing. Some of us do not earn enough to spend so much on rent. We shouldn’t be spending so much of our income on rent because there are other expenses, such as education. Lastly, I certainly think we need to find idealistic solutions to this problem. Solutions that will benefit the general public and those in office.
Hi Cicely,
I like your memo on the problem of affordable housing in NYC. This is an important issue and I agree with you on many things that you spoke about in your memo.
I think that you just need to add more citations in your memo to back up the evidence you provide. Having poor health due to a lack of stability is something I agree with. I think that you should try to find a scientific article or study showing how this does cause poor health, it doesn’t have to be with a population from NYC but it can be from any population and you can make a correlation. Gentrification is a major reason for the lack of affordable housing as well/ There are articles about gentrification and studies that have been done as well. I think that your arguments are strong but I would include more citations from where the evidence is found. Overall all great topic and points.
-Dianna
Hi Cicely,
Affordable housing is definitely a big problem in NYC, and it does affect children’ s academic performance, both short term and long term. I agree with your arguments and I would try to elaborate on how it would affect the school performance a little more. For example, I would guess that if a family is forced to move to a cheaper rent area, the crime rate, gang activities would be higher in these neighborhoods, and thus potentially could affect the safety and school performances of these children. The other way that it could have affect these children is that the schools in these neighborhood may not be as good as the others, for example, lack of extracurricular activities such as music or arts, or lack of AP or honor classes. Thus, these children may not be as prepared for high schools or colleges as they would have been if they were in a district with better schools.
Hi Cicely,
I enjoyed reading this and found it extremely interesting because I personally know people facing homelessness. Affordable housing is imperative for people of New York because we are from diverse backgrounds and parts of the world. Some of us may know immigrant families paying rent that is way above their budget but they have no choice. They need a place for their family and the only way to avoid the streets is to pay the hefty rent. We also have immigrant families who cannot afford their rent and may be facing eviction. This is not only stressful but something that hinders other parts of their lives too.
I like how you presented the negative effects of not having affordable housing. Landlords are continuously raising prices because they know they can attract wealthier folks. Not having affordable housing definitely forces people to compromise on other necessary expenses such as food or clothes. This also makes a difference in their children’s education and mental state. Children shouldn’t face the problem of homelessness at such an early stage but some are forced to go through this experience.
I also believe that gentrification is a contributing factor to lack of affordable housing. Gentrification is a prime problem that I didn’t quite see growing up in the Lower East Side. My father had an apartment there and the neighborhood was filled with people from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. The Lower East Side is no longer filled with diverse faces and diverse businesses. Developers transformed the area by building new buildings only wealthy people could afford. I can no longer relate to this neighborhood because it no longer belongs to different groups of people. The people I knew could no longer afford the rent and were forced to move out.
The problem memo mentions how 12 million renters/homeowners pay 50 percent of their annual incomes for housing which is disturbing. Some of us do not earn enough to spend so much on rent. We shouldn’t be spending so much of our income on rent because there are other expenses, such as education. Lastly, I certainly think we need to find idealistic solutions to this problem. Solutions that will benefit the general public and those in office.
Hi Cicely,
I like your memo on the problem of affordable housing in NYC. This is an important issue and I agree with you on many things that you spoke about in your memo.
I think that you just need to add more citations in your memo to back up the evidence you provide. Having poor health due to a lack of stability is something I agree with. I think that you should try to find a scientific article or study showing how this does cause poor health, it doesn’t have to be with a population from NYC but it can be from any population and you can make a correlation. Gentrification is a major reason for the lack of affordable housing as well/ There are articles about gentrification and studies that have been done as well. I think that your arguments are strong but I would include more citations from where the evidence is found. Overall all great topic and points.
-Dianna
Hi Cicely,
Affordable housing is definitely a big problem in NYC, and it does affect children’ s academic performance, both short term and long term. I agree with your arguments and I would try to elaborate on how it would affect the school performance a little more. For example, I would guess that if a family is forced to move to a cheaper rent area, the crime rate, gang activities would be higher in these neighborhoods, and thus potentially could affect the safety and school performances of these children. The other way that it could have affect these children is that the schools in these neighborhood may not be as good as the others, for example, lack of extracurricular activities such as music or arts, or lack of AP or honor classes. Thus, these children may not be as prepared for high schools or colleges as they would have been if they were in a district with better schools.