Housing Starts: Gentrification Myth? I Mayor Says Housing Goals on Track I Lawmakers Look at Airbnb

Long-time Sunset Park Section 8 resident Walter Wolfe (photo credit: DNAinfo/Nikhita Venugopal).

1. Gentrification May Be Complicated, But It’s Not a Myth and Neither Is Displacement A study published last week by NYU’s Furman Center showed that subsidized affordable rentals were much more likely to convert to market-rate in gentrified, high-amenity neighborhoods. And that “since 2000, just six percent of new subsidized affordable rental units have been located in Manhattan below 96th street, compared to 17 percent of subsidized rental units built in the 1970s.” Of course, New York is not like all cities, and it’s also likely that cities like Detroit or Camden or Cleveland or Gary would much prefer New York’s gentrification struggles to economic malaise. But that does not make the plight of the poor and middle-class in New York any less real. Nor does it make gentrification any more a figment of our imaginations. [New York Observer – 01/20/15]
2. Mayor Says Housing Goals on Track Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city has financed the creation of enough affordable apartments last year to house an additional 42,000 New Yorkers. “We came fast out of the gate with an aggressive affordable housing strategy to meet this crisis,” said de Blasio, referring to the city’s lack of affordable apartments. The mayor announced that 17,300 more units of affordable housing have come online within the past year. Of those, 6,191 are new and 11,185 have been preserved. [WNYC – 01/15/15]
3. Setting Sights on More High-Rises in Long Island City It may be hard to believe given the amount of construction in recent years, but more cranes could be on their way to Long Island City. City Hall is targeting the Queens neighborhood along the East River and just north of the Long Island Expressway for a possible rezoning that would promote the construction around Queens Plaza of more high-rise apartment buildings, including ones with lower rents. In 2001, the city rezoned 34 blocks of Long Island City between Queens Plaza and Court Square to spur residential high-rises while looking to maintain a mix of manufacturing and commercial space. [Wall Street Journal – ]
4. Lawmakers Look at How Airbnb Affects NYC Housing, Economy A City Council hearing Tuesday is shaping up to be a wide-ranging faceoff over the pros and cons of short-term apartment rentals, which have come under scrutiny in New York and other cities around the country. Before the hearing even starts, Airbnb supporters and opponents are set to hold dueling rallies outside City Hall. Airbnb and similar sites have become a focal point for discussion about whether and how to regulate the growing “sharing economy,” and whether it represents an innovative, person-to-person business model or an unregulated, unruly upstart. Short-term rentals also have become a thread in a larger debate about affordable housing — an especially hot topic in New York, where it’s a centerpiece of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s agenda. [ABC News – 01/20/15]
5. Inequality and the Growth of Cities There’s no question growing inequality is one of the most significant challenges facing the United States today. And it’s often most severe in the largest U.S. cities and metro areas. Several recent studies (two of which I’ve already written about here at CityLab) have found inequality to be connected to economic clustering—the very force that propels innovation and economic growth. But what exactly is the connection between inequality and economic growth? Do economic success stories always have to be connected to inequality? [Atlantic CityLab – 01/20/15]
6. Jerome Avenue Corridor Eyed for New Zoning It’s that juxtaposition of new and old that is inspiring community leaders and city planners alike. That includes many within the de Blasio administration, which is in the early stages of formulating a rezoning plan for a narrow, 57-block-long corridor along Jerome Avenue. It will be designed to bring new businesses and thousands of units of affordable housing.The first step is completion of the Cromwell-Jerome Neighborhood Study, expected by the end of this year. It will draw on what Mr. de Blasio has begun to do elsewhere, most notably in impoverished East New York, Brooklyn. [Crain’s New York Business – 01/20/15]
7. Nearly 40 Sunset Park Buildings to Remain in Section 8 Program Tenants in almost 40 buildings that receive subsidies will continue to pay lower rents after the landlord agreed to stay in the federal program, officials said Thursday. Property owner and landlord E&M Associates will renew its contracts for another five years through a project-based program called Section 8, in which the federal government pays a share of the apartment rent. For months, tenants have feared losing their homes or facing huge increases in rent after receiving a warning notice last summer that said the landlord did “not intend to renew the current Section 8 contracts when it expires.” [DNAinfo – 01/16/15]
8. Plans Unveiled for Massive Lower East Side Development The developers of an enormous mixed-use project planned for six acres on the Lower East Side say they are close to securing enough commercial leases to begin seeking financing—setting up a potential mid-year groundbreaking. The partners behind the 1.9 million-square-foot Essex Crossing, which would be built on a site that’s been vacant for decades, on Wednesday unveiled designs for four buildings that would be built as part of the project’s first phase. They say they are moving quickly and anticipate beginning demolition of several existing structures by early February. [Capital New York – 01/14/15]
9. De Blasio’s Affordable Housing Plan Could Destroy 15 Community Gardens At least 15 community gardens on city-owned property could be bulldozed to make way for new buildings under the de Blasio administration’s affordable housing plan, community advocates said. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development published a list this week of city-owned sites that housing developers can apply to build on, shocking those who tend to and enjoy the green spaces. Developers were asked to submit proposals for nearly 180 sites — which could include rentals for families earning nearly $140,000 a year and paying $3,000 in rent — by Feb. 19. [DNAinfo – 01/16/15]
10. Mystery Buyer Drops Staggering Amount on Palatial 57th St. Apartment As Deal Sets City Record A palatial apartment on 57th St. has broken the record for the most expensive apartment ever sold in Manhattan. A mystery buyer dropped a staggering $100.47 million on the penthouse apartment, which occupies the entire 89th and 90th floors of One57, the high-end apartment tower overlooking Central Park at 157 W. 57th St., according to city records. The property is the first single-family home to sell for more than $100 million in the city’s history. The previous record for a closed deal was held by Ekaterina Rybolovleva, daughter of Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who paid $88 million for a condo at 15 Central Park West nearly four years ago. [New York Daily News – 01/16/15]