What's he want, more rent control? To put "the 1%" 'up against a wall'?
What is this article other than a whiny complaint, pandering to the envious masses?
What is this article other than a whiny complaint, pandering to the envious masses?
Who do you expect to do for service workers? Honestly. Do you expect those people to live in squalid conditions 20 to a room like we did 100 years ago?
Are you aware that that rents even within a 2hr commute distance do not decline enough to be affordable (except in a declining number of bad neighborhoods)? You can live on the Metro North/Amtrak routes as far up as Poughkeepsie and still pay $1200-$1600/mo for a studio/1br. Commuting is also expensive on its own with monthly passes often costing ~$400/mo. Plus having to have a car and car insurance in those areas on top of that.
Where do want to put people who do low-wage jobs that can't be automated? What's your plan?
People maybe inclined to argue against subsidizing more expensive housing in downtown areas, but the cost of commuting from lower income outer areas actually increases pollution, and traffic costs. It also breaks the poverty cycle by preventing geographic and possibly cultural segregation of the lower income families.
Honestly though, Toronto needs housing in the downtown areas. I haven't been there in 7-8 years but other than tourists and shopping, the streets around the business districts felt pretty dead/lifeless. It made the area very boring after 4pm. Having some residents in those areas would really improve the city quite a bit.
It's gotten bad enough that poor artsy Torontonians have started moving here to Hamilton. They're so desperate for dense vibrant city living they can actually afford that they come here.
The GO train commute isn't that bad...90 minutes at the most and it's pretty direct.
Hamilton is Ontario's leading producer of unrealized potential, an honor I expect to keep for many, many years. I love this city, but it's not an easy city to love.
All of the super wealthy trust fund kids I knew there had parents who ran companies in Hamilton and NOT in T.O.
[1] http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/1k-house-prototype-0915.h...
Could you, for example, create an elevator system that took you from ground floor to your apartment, and only if you keyed in the right code? And would that be sufficient to allow people to live without being negatively harmed by their neighbours?
Curious and I don't know if anyone has looked into this in a controlled way, hence the question.
My off-the-wall hypothesis is that poverty breeds crime, and crime breeds decay which itself breeds more crime (see: broken windows theory). Small tight-knit communities seem to, in some situations^ at least, put the brakes on this process. The tighter the community the more of a support net individuals have and the more obligation they feel towards their surroundings.
^ A counter-example that comes to mind are your stereotypical trailer parks and near-ghost-town mining towns across the rust-belt. A poor neighborhood that isn't dense isn't necessarily a wonderful place.
How difficult is it to live where you do without a car?
I was mostly speaking about the areas near the train station that you mentioned yeah. Those prices are pretty high for the commute time that you end up having. A 15 minute walk is okay but any longer than that might be very difficult for some people.
Now granted, their commute is going to be longer since that 15-30 minutes is in addition to the rest of their commute, not the entirety of it, but you can't live outside the city you are working in and expect snappy commutes.
Also, can you really live in these areas and shop without a car? I find the answer to that question to rarely be yes.
I shop with my car maybe once a month, tops, and that is mostly just because I like to buy dozens of liters of seltzer water.
Nearly all of the Westchester suburbs are extremely walkable. All of the essential stuff is on the train line. The wife and I would load up the baby and take the train to Portchester, where there was a Costco, Marshalls, etc. I did have a car, which I drove maybe once a month (the upscale mall in White Plains was nowhere near public transit).
A 35 minute commute is not bad at all. Lots of rich people all over the country have hour+ commutes from the suburbs. Heck, my commute from New Rochelle was a lot more enjoyable (straight shot into GCT) than my commute from the UWS (transfer at Times Square, ugh). You can't point to 35 minute commutes as a reason to make space for low-income housing in the city proper.
I mean, I totally get what you're saying, but I didn't find much benefit to living out there. I don't have a family though.
In any case, you're arguing a different point now. Housing prices in many Westchester towns are very reasonable and commutes are too. No reason for rent control to allow low-income people to live in the city proper.
"But even in Manhattan, nearly half of all rental apartments are rent-stabilized."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/realestate/rent-stabilized...
I know what I'm talking about, I live(d) in a rent controlled apartment since birth.
http://www.housingnyc.com/html/resources/faq/rentstab.html#d...
"Rents Stabilization FAQ
See also Rent Control FAQ's
Is there a difference between RENT CONTROL and RENT STABILIZATION? What exactly is rent stabilization? Can my landlord evict me and use my stabilized apartment for his family, and how many apartments in the building can he take? What happens when the rent for my stabilized apartment rises above $2,500? How can I find out if my apartment is stabilized? Can the management company sell my stabilized apartment? Similar buildings in my neighborhood are stabilized - why isn't mine? Should my landlord inform me that my unit is stabilized? Disclaimer: By providing answers to frequently asked questions, the staff of the Rent Guidelines Board attempts to clarify the often complex programs and regulations governing landlord tenant relations in NYC. However, the information provided herein does not represent official policies or opinions of the City of New York or the Rent Guidelines Board nor should this information be used to substitute for advice of legal counsel.
Is there a difference between RENT CONTROL and RENT STABILIZATION?
Some of the people who email us say "rent controlled" but actually MEAN rent stabilized -- they do not know the difference.
Why is it so hard to be accurate? There is a difference between rent control and rent stabilization, as only about 38,000 rent controlled units exist vs. about one million stabilized units, and rent control has a different set of regulations than rent stabilization.
The term "rent regulated" encompasses both rent controlled and rent stabilized units. By the way, the Rent Guidelines Board has the responsibility for setting rent adjustments for rent stabilized apartments. We have no jurisdiction over rent controlled apartments, which is the responsibility of the NY State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). "
Even so, rent regulation is _not_ the problem. It's primarily the parking requirement and secondarily the zoning issues. All the co-op and condo owners who dominate most fo the neighborhoods affected WANT it to be this way because it keeps the price of their homes up.
I agree with your second statement
Capital improvements really hurt rent regulated tenants long-term.
That's one option.
> To put "the 1%" 'up against a wall'?
That kind of hyperbole is unwarranted given the very reasonable tone of the article.
> What is this article other than a whiny complaint, pandering to the envious masses?
I'd call it an astute observation by a creative, intelligent person about the city in which lives.
Kind of like no one can afford to live in SV unless they're in tech and/or are rich.
Price out the producing class, production leaves the area.