6 thoughts on “Housing Affordability Crisis in New York City.”
This is a very interesting topic. You stated that the burden is placed on low income families. I think that it should be stated that the burden is also placed on mid-low income families. Escalating rents are forcing mid-income families out of their apartments as well. It would be interesting to find out the approximate number of individuals who are in shelter but unable to find housing.
Lorina i agree with you that middle and low income families are both struggling to make the rent or find affordable housing but the low income folks are already or the streets or a pay check away.I believe solutions that will focus on keeping the low income folks from landing on the streets will also help out the middle income folks.Am thinking a bottom up approach helping the most at risk first and them work our way up.
Agree. I made an error in my previous post. I meant to say that it would be interesting to find out what percentage of low income individuals who currently work depend on the shelter system.
This is a very challenging topic. I would be interested in working with you to develop your arguments further.
Affordable housing is a difficult and emotional issue. It will require effort and commitment from several stakeholders to resolve. We should build affordable housing in an environmentally advantageous so that the people will have convenience around their neighborhood. The city can also create “micro-suites” or “micro apartments”- for students or low income families. It is a shame that we cannot get more affordable housing built to meet some of the requirements. The suburbs have been diversifying economically and socially. A lot of people living in these places are in a difficult situation from a fiscal stance.
I agree with Elaine this is a difficult and emotional issue. If you want to focus on the low income families primarily. I think it would be good to examine the reasons behind the decline in funding to public housing authorities. Some cities demolished their “projects” as the saw them as breeding grounds for drugs and crime. If you are looking primarily at New York you might have to research if it is profitable to build affordable housing, it seems thats honestly what developers are after. Perhaps instituting mandates that all buildings provide a minimum number of units of affordable housing would help. I think the lottery system we have in place tries to do that but not every new building is mandated to have affordable units. This is a serious problem in NY and I think government cannot afford to stay out of it any longer.
Hi Chris,
Reading this memo took my mind some many places and I was filled with so much emotion. I was looking on Zillow’s recently and I was amazed to see just how much a house cost in a safe neighborhood with easy access to the trains. As you mentioned, affording a home would mean than that families would put majority of their salary to the house cost, a salary that is already insufficient to sustain them. Another thing that struck me was the amount of homeless people we have here in New York. As a state that is well known for many tourist attraction and rich culture, why is it that new public buildings aren’t being built to accommodate the homeless, and low income families? I don’t think it’s fair to say that it is a matter of finance, look at all those new expensive homes being built near Gateway Center in Brooklyn, and the enhancement of the Gateway Center itself with the addition of new stores. That’s a lot of taxes the government is collecting. In a nutshell, I agree with you that affordable housing is a major issue in New York.
This is a very interesting topic. You stated that the burden is placed on low income families. I think that it should be stated that the burden is also placed on mid-low income families. Escalating rents are forcing mid-income families out of their apartments as well. It would be interesting to find out the approximate number of individuals who are in shelter but unable to find housing.
Lorina i agree with you that middle and low income families are both struggling to make the rent or find affordable housing but the low income folks are already or the streets or a pay check away.I believe solutions that will focus on keeping the low income folks from landing on the streets will also help out the middle income folks.Am thinking a bottom up approach helping the most at risk first and them work our way up.
Agree. I made an error in my previous post. I meant to say that it would be interesting to find out what percentage of low income individuals who currently work depend on the shelter system.
This is a very challenging topic. I would be interested in working with you to develop your arguments further.
Affordable housing is a difficult and emotional issue. It will require effort and commitment from several stakeholders to resolve. We should build affordable housing in an environmentally advantageous so that the people will have convenience around their neighborhood. The city can also create “micro-suites” or “micro apartments”- for students or low income families. It is a shame that we cannot get more affordable housing built to meet some of the requirements. The suburbs have been diversifying economically and socially. A lot of people living in these places are in a difficult situation from a fiscal stance.
I agree with Elaine this is a difficult and emotional issue. If you want to focus on the low income families primarily. I think it would be good to examine the reasons behind the decline in funding to public housing authorities. Some cities demolished their “projects” as the saw them as breeding grounds for drugs and crime. If you are looking primarily at New York you might have to research if it is profitable to build affordable housing, it seems thats honestly what developers are after. Perhaps instituting mandates that all buildings provide a minimum number of units of affordable housing would help. I think the lottery system we have in place tries to do that but not every new building is mandated to have affordable units. This is a serious problem in NY and I think government cannot afford to stay out of it any longer.
Hi Chris,
Reading this memo took my mind some many places and I was filled with so much emotion. I was looking on Zillow’s recently and I was amazed to see just how much a house cost in a safe neighborhood with easy access to the trains. As you mentioned, affording a home would mean than that families would put majority of their salary to the house cost, a salary that is already insufficient to sustain them. Another thing that struck me was the amount of homeless people we have here in New York. As a state that is well known for many tourist attraction and rich culture, why is it that new public buildings aren’t being built to accommodate the homeless, and low income families? I don’t think it’s fair to say that it is a matter of finance, look at all those new expensive homes being built near Gateway Center in Brooklyn, and the enhancement of the Gateway Center itself with the addition of new stores. That’s a lot of taxes the government is collecting. In a nutshell, I agree with you that affordable housing is a major issue in New York.