dust1990 t1_j21aqtd wrote on December 28, 2022 at 10:58 PM

Reply to comment by jordanmcarson in Opinion: New York finally has momentum on housing and it’s time for a breakthrough by King-of-New-York

What’s your policy solution? The middle to upper middle class has already been pushed out. Rent regulation and affordable housing policies have only served the very rich who already own and the lucky who score a regulated apartment or housing lottery. Both of these policies have been disastrous for the middle. Please don’t advocate for more of the same.

jordanmcarson t1_j21d4j7 wrote on December 28, 2022 at 11:14 PM

Here’s a radical idea. Have a cap on how much rent can be charged. Reintroduce rent control, restart the advantage problem that was eliminated by Andrew Cuomo and restart the Section 8 voucher program. Letting the free market dictating rents isn’t working. And obviously isn’t working due to the fact we have a homelessness crisis.

dust1990 t1_j21hgd9 wrote on December 28, 2022 at 11:45 PM

Caps basically already exists for half the market with rent regulation, which manipulates the remaining market rate apartments making them more unaffordable than they’d be without regulation. Plus regulation discourages landlords from improving their property worsening the condition of the regulated apartments for tenants.

Rent control was worse than the current rent regulation. It similarly doesn’t target subsidies for those on need just those lucky enough to sign the right lease. It’s worse because it allows tenants to pass along their lottery ticket to heirs who may not need a subsidy. Same problem for improving the properties as regulation.

Admittedly don’t know much about the Advantage program.

NYCHA administers the largest Section 8 program in the country. What do you mean restart it?

The NYC market is the most regulated market in the country. It’s not a free market. Half of rentals are under rent regulation which distorts the whole market and discourages owners making improvements.

We agree the current environment isn’t working. But it’s not from lack of regulation. It’s from too onerous regulation and zoning restrictions making it too difficult and too expensive to build. We need to build, build, build market rate apartments. This will increase supply putting downward pressure on prices including existing units. The only efficient way to fix the problem of lack of supply is to increase supply by building new units.