Nathanial_Jones t1_j7g6t2t wrote on February 6, 2023 at 3:55 PM

Reply to comment by NeoLephty in Arc Tower on the agenda at tomorrow's Central Planning Board meeting on Zoom, February 6 @ 6pm by felsonj

>Did you know that NYC also has more empty housing than homelessness? Most vacancies are not just empty, ready to move in apartments, that aren't on the market.

>none of the affordable units that will be going to are 2 bedrooms. Families don’t need affordable housing?

I agree, that's not ideal. But imo there's value in not letting perfect be the enemy of good.

>Almost like continuing to develop new rentals for the sole purpose of making more money for the developer

The result is not just the developer making money. It's also providing a place to live for over 500 people. Unfortunately, very little happens in the world without a company making money along the way.

>And as a city government, this isn’t where we need to focus our energy.

You seem really passionate about this subject, genuinely curious, in your opinikn where should the city government focus its energy?

NeoLephty t1_j7g99d8 wrote on February 6, 2023 at 4:12 PM

I think the city has spent too much time trying to change the demographics within the city by building new housing and getting large companies to move 2 towns over for a huge tax break. None of this actually helps Newark residents since those tax breaks come at the expense of our ability to pay for public education and those companies are bringing their workforce with them.

Investing in the people currently in the city is how I think that they should spend their energy. What doe this mean... Firstly, a housing first agenda. There is zero reason we should have homeless people when we have the ability to solve the problem morally. There are solutions to "solve" the homeless "problem" by just moving homeless people out of the city. This is morally wrong and doesn't solve the problem. Give them homes, no questions asked.

Second is to increase social services for everyone in the city. This includes people in the housing first program as just getting housing isn't the end solution for the problems some people face. Drug addiction, PTSD and other mental health issues, lack of training, etc. These are all problems the city can solve while transforming the once homeless population into members of the workforce.

Thirdly, reinvestment in education. A lot of buildings have tax abatements which eats directly into our education funds. I know teachers/principals from multiple places in the state and can confidently say the problems Newark teachers face in the classroom can be resolved with simple things like free school lunches, after school programs, and mental health services in school.

I won't keep going but there is a lot more. Electrifying and sprucing up our public transportation, creating more green spaces like parks, adding tree cover to our city streets so they're more walkable, transforming driving streets into walking only sections (like Ferry St. or Halsey St.), or even opening up community gardens so we have fresh fruit and vegetables available in grocery stores all over the city and not just at Whole Foods... There is A LOT that can be done that doesn't involve building another residential tower to bring in more people from outside of Newark. That's just an attempt to "solve" the problem by displacing the current residents (pricing them out). It is the same effect as moving the homeless population out of your city to say you solved the problem.

Nathanial_Jones t1_j7gmqia wrote on February 6, 2023 at 5:39 PM

You know I think we actually see eye to eye on most things, I basically agree 100% with all your proposals here. Housing first is the only way we're going to solve the homelessness problem, and while it's the official stance of the administration, it feels like progress is painfully slow. And seriously, hmu if you ever start a petition or something for turning ferry into a pedestrian only, that'd be the dream.

Unfortunately though, most projects require significant amounts of money, money that Newark scarcely has. Looking at schools for example, something like 80-90% of the funding comes not from Newark's property taxes, but from state and federal funding. Beyond fighting for more support from the state and federal government (which we should continue to do), that leaves the other group who controls massive amounts of capital: big businesses, as well as the more affluent crowd that will live in many of the new apartments. Big transformations will require large amounts of money. The best way forward is harnessing the resources of those forces, and using it to improve the city as much as possible, while making sure current residents get to enjoy the benefits without getting displaced. Imo better to focus on further tenant protections and getting close to real affordable housing for all than cutting off the big spigot of private capital.