Obama’s GSE Plan | Sequester Cuts to Housing | Gentrification Critics are Gentrifiers Themselves

Following Sandy, Sayreville resident Dawn Obel debates whether to rebuild or to move on.

1. Obama outlines plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. President Obama hailed both this city’s and the country’s comeback from the housing bust on Tuesday, and said it was now time to reduce the federal role and risk in the mortgage market “to make sure the kind of crisis we went through never happens again. [New York Times – 08/06/13]
2. Buy-out dilemma: To rebuild or pull up stakes. For many homeowners and businesses recovering from Sandy, the mantra has been to rebuild stronger. But some New Jersey residents have concluded that their best option is not to rebuild at all. [WNYC – 08/08/13]
3. Congress misses opportunity to reverse sequester cuts to housing. In April, Doug Rice, senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, warned that sequestration would lead to the loss of rental assistance for up to 140,000 low-income families. [The Nation – 08/07/13]
4. Investor group calls Richmond, Calif. eminent domain plan unconstitutional. Banks representing some of the nation’s largest bond investors filed suit against the city of Richmond, Calif., on Wednesday to block plans by city officials to seize and buy mortgages using their powers of eminent domain. [Wall Street Journal – 08/07/13]
5. Washington steps warily on housing. In the seven years since the housing market started to fall apart, politicians of both parties have promised repeatedly to build a better system for financing the American dream of owning a home. There is little sign of progress. [New York Times – 08/06/13]
6. Big NYC developers seen getting subpoenas. Subpoenas issued by a recently formed state anti-corruption committee were sent to several high-profile Manhattan landlords to see if there are any link between their campaign donations and huge tax breaks they were granted on luxury apartment towers they are building. [Crain’s New York Business – 08/07/13]
7. Justice Dept. sues Bank of America over mortgage securities. The Justice Department sued Bank of America on Tuesday, accusing the bank of defrauding investors by vastly understating the risks of the mortgages backing about $850 million in securities [New York Times – 08/06/13]
8. How many gentrification critics are actually gentrifiers themselves? John Joe Schlichtman recalls a particularly hypocritical scene at a wine-and-cheese reception, one of those social outings held at the end of a day of conference symposiums. The “lefist” sociologists were gathered in a historic building, designed by a famous architect, inside a major global city. Schlichtman is intentionally vague about the details because he doesn’t want to too narrowly indict anyone in the sweeping critique he’s about to make about academics who study urbanism. [Atlantic Cities – 08/08/13]
9. High prices and few choices force renters to stay put, experts say. Summer tends to be a bustling time for the rental market, but things are a little different this year. Many Manhattanites seem to be staying put, real estate experts said. [DNAinfo New York – 08/08/13]
10. Tenants rights group slams REBNY on independent expenditures. Tenant rights group Tenants PAC is lashing out at the Real Estate Board of New York for its role in supporting favored political candidates through the independent expenditures of political action committee Jobs for New York. [Commercial Observer – 08/05/13]