York_Villain t1_j64dlbr wrote on January 27, 2023 at 5:04 PM

Reply to comment by ceeyell in NY attorney general weighs in: Harlem truck depot could be illegal by ctnutmegger

You're rooting for a free license for developers to do whatever they want. Otherwise known as an unregulated market.

Who says it's not profitable to allocate some 2 and 3 bedroom apartments? Are the margins that narrow? Because they aren't. Why should we allow an unregulated mess because some investment fund that owns the majority stake of a development company sees a return on their investment in 25 years as opposed to 20? Trust me, they're all earning.

I want more apartments too. I want them everywhere. But I want it done responsibly. That's what the councilmember is asking for. Instead you got people calling her a racist for asking for it.

neutral_cloud t1_j64gyg1 wrote on January 27, 2023 at 5:25 PM

Given that these are the developers we have, instead of some imaginary other cohort of developers, if you only want apartments that fit your particular specifications, then you do not really want apartments. We need housing so badly, and so fast, that any unit not built is basically a moral crime.

York_Villain t1_j64iltm wrote on January 27, 2023 at 5:35 PM

I'm not saying I only want apartments that fit my particular specifications. I never once said this. What I'm saying is that some of the apartments allocated to low income housing should be 2 and 3 bedrooms as opposed to studios and 1 bedrooms. Because actual familes live in multi-room homes. The largest apartment for low income tenants in that development was a 1 bedroom.

That was literally the one thing that the councilmember was asking for. For some two and three bedroom apartments. Instead the developer does this. So who is being unreasonable?

Do we need housing? Absolutely. But there is no reason why we shouldn't have some minimum standards.

ceeyell t1_j64y9w2 wrote on January 27, 2023 at 7:13 PM

Honestly, I feel like I could have written your exact comment back in like 2015, but my opinion has completely evolved on this issue. Build more housing. All types of housing. Build it now, build it everywhere, including in this woman's district. She is directly standing in the way of over 900 affordable apartments because of semantics. When my in-laws in the Bronx are applying for housing lotteries and there are decade long waitlists for senior housing in NYC, this woman says "nah I don't want 900 affordable apartments. Not good enough for me. Zero is better."

She should be voted out for this, and she only won by I believe a few hundred votes to begin with.