Obama’s Second Housing Agenda | ‘Severely Burdened’ New Yorkers | New East Elmhurst Zoning

President Obama outlined his second term housing policies in his speech on the economy last week. (Associated Press)

1. Obama’s second term housing policies. “‘The key now is to encourage homeownership that isn’t based on bubbles, but is instead based on a solid foundation, where buyers and lenders play by the same set of rules, rules that are clear, transparent, and fair,’ said President Obama in his speech on the economy this past week.” [Wall Street Journal – 07/26/13]
2. East Elmhurst sees pluses in new zoning. “A large rezoning in Queens is being sought by the city in the area immediately south of La Guardia Airport, a move backers hope will preserve the neighborhood’s low-lying character and bolster its commercial boulevards.The proposal, which covers 127 blocks in East Elmhurst and 14 blocks on Roosevelt Avenue in Corona, would update zoning that has remained largely unchanged since 1961.” [Wall Street Journal – 07/25/13]
3. Nearly one third of New Yorkers are “severely burdened” by housing costs, study says. “If you thought the recession and the downturn in the city’s real estate biz brought any relief to renters, you’d be dead wrong. In fact, not only is the rent still too damn high, it’s eating into a bigger share of New Yorkers’ incomes, according to the State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods 2012, a study released on Monday by NYU’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy.” [New York Daily News – 07/29/13]
4. East Cleveland murders put spotlight on abandoned homes. “Three bodies found in and around abandoned houses in East Cleveland have raised questions about the prevalence of vacant homes in the community - there are almost 4,000 of them, according to The Plain Dealer. Homes that are abandoned - often due to foreclosure - lower property values, but neighborhood advocates say they also create an environment that allows criminal activity to go unchecked and undetected.” [WNYC – 07/26/13]
5. Miami Beach preservationists battle glitterati over historic homes. “Some of Miami Beach’s quietest and most historic neighborhoods can be found in a chain of small islands connected by a causeway. On Di Lido Island, a community of homes built 50 and 60 years ago is being torn down and replaced, lot by lot. On one street alone, five houses currently are slated for demolition.” [NPR – 07/29/13]
6. NYC’s rising number of older immigrants. “New York City has the largest number of foreign-born immigrants of any city in the U.S., which presents specific challenges for the city. Jonathan Bowles, director of Center for an Urban Future, talks about the changing demographics of New York’s older residents.” [WNYC – 07/29/13]
7. Williamsburg homes, with neighborliness in mind. “When the architect Carmi Bee first moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn, decades ago, the favored activity of his neighbors was to lounge on the stoops of their brownstones, getting to know one another. ‘Now that the area’s become gentrified, you don’t see it,’ Mr. Bee said, and then laughed. ‘They’re all working to pay the mortgage, I guess.’ Thus, Mr. Bee, a principal of RKT&B Architects and Urban Designers, said he enjoyed designing a group of 12 contemporary row houses in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that may bring back the former days of stoop-gathering.” [New York TImes – 07/26/13]
8. As interest rates rise, new-home orders slow for home builders. “The quarterly earnings reports of big U.S. home builders on Thursday brought fresh evidence that the rapid rise in interest rates has sapped the pace of new-home orders for some, though several executives dismissed the slowdown as temporary and pointed out that home prices continue rising.” [Wall Street Journal – 07/25/13]
9. The great East Baltimore raze and rebuild. “‘If EBDI fails, then my presidency at Hopkins fails.’ With those nine words, Ronald J. Daniels, 14th president of the world’s leading medical institution, staked his legacy on an urban renewal project that, a decade in, many believed was too entangled in racial tensions, accusations and financial setbacks to salvage.” [Next City – 07/29/13]
10. Flood, rebuild, repeat: Are we ready for a Superstorm Sandy every other year? “Scientists often refer to the ‘100-year flood,’ the highest water level expected over the course of a century. But with sea levels rising along the East Coast-a natural phenomenon accelerated by climate change-scientists project that in our lifetimes what was once considered a 100-year flood will happen every 3 to 20 years. And truly catastrophic storms will do damage unimaginable today. ‘With the exact same Sandy 100 years from now,’ Deodatis says, ‘if you have, say, five feet of sea level rise, it’s going to be much more devastating.’” [Atlantic Cities – 07/29/13]