wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Calls'em
really can u link me to one such study? which cities would u compare to NYC

In fact the city has an illegal and immoral housing situation. Owners are deprived of property rights. All rent control and stabilization should be gotten rid of going forward and the city should in fact be forced to sell its’ public housing projects. There are numerous studies over the years that show rents would come down across the board if free market forces were allowed to play themselves out.

i've seen some of these "luxury high rises" they look like cheap hotels. only a fool would have paid the market rates about 2 years ago

Oops--the City Council election for residents of West Village, Chelsea and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen is Sept. 15!

How can you decrease housing costs when NYU is fast razing both villages, destroying our history and legacy, for its dorms, etc.?

All with Quinn's acquiescence.

I was just called by a worker from Yetta Kurland's campaign, who said this is a major issue for her. She's got my vote Sept. 16.

http://yettakurland.com/node/62

#12 Robert from NYC: YES!
#24 Steve from NJ: YES!

No Capper, she didn’t say $850K would be affordable. She said they wouldn’t be taking a $1m apartment, making it $850K and calling that affordable (for someone who could already pay that amount). She also didn’t say: 1. What is affordable by the City’s metric and if what is actually affordable (to the average middle income New Yorker) is market rate or much less. 2. What is a. low income by the City’s definition and b. what is middle income by the City’s definition. 3. What exactly is luxury… I can call a Big Mac haute cuisine, but that doesn’t make it so. Why should the City rely on marketing websites and brochures from developers (every developer calls their POS building “luxury”) and not have independent assessors. And 4. As another poster commented, what impact will 400 units have; there are probably 400 stalled sites in the city. One unit per stalled development?
On real estate blogs the speaker has a reputation as a shill for developers…. Her lack of hard numbers didn’t help her reputation.

Off topic, but C.Quinn has for years been rated ZERO on animal welfare issues by the Human Society and NY League of Humane Voters. She couldn't even vote on a "no-brainer" like having sprinkler systems in pet shops.

Re: your intro to the african-american quarterback segment. Brian, I'm disappointed that you fall into the trap of referring to the Henry Louis Gates incident as "racial profiling". This was not a racial profiling incident. The police were responding to a report of a perceived attempted break-in at a residence. They responded to the scene and encountered two individuals. That's not racial profiling, although subsequent events may have been a lack of good judgment on the part of both principals). Racial profiling is when a particular group is singled out for enforcement based solely on racial characteristics -- hence, the common New Jersey stop for "DWB" -- driving while black.

capper
no that's not what she said!

Did she just say buying an $850,000 apartment would be considered affordable???!!!

This program will apply to 400 units.
The City will contribute $50k per unit.
The cost of the program is $1 million.
So which 400 people are going to get the $1 million gift? Patronage?

400 units throughout NYC will not effectively stabilize any neighborhood.

Is this really a good use of public finances?

What will this program really do, except give 400 well-connected people a gift of $50k each.

Were all her phone calls just staged?

How about developers decreasing prices then we can buy why is city getting involved?

Why not simply buy the units from developers or the banks AT COST? This will take the burden off the hands of the banks and developers. Most of the so called “luxury” development in this city was luxury in name only. The units are overpriced, the construction was sub-par at best, and (as someone who looks at construction plans all day) the layouts were nonsensical.
With building owners leading the process, how will this be anything less than another New York City taxpayer dollar giveaway to private developers. How rigorous will oversight and audits be on this program to prove this isn’t subsidizing private developers and will the Speaker please define low and middle income?

How about government employees who cannot purchase anywhere?

Why are the phones are loaded with her friends and supporters.. WHAT'S THE DEAL??

Moderate and middle income people are often left out of these kinds of programs. Affordable housing often has very low ceilings for income levels, yet "market rate" is much much higher. What is moderate income?

I always thought affordable housing was a requirement for new developments. It turns out it's an option - the incentive is something called the 80 / 20 program. Does Christine Quinn have any thoughts on that?

Brian, Ask Christine if she still lives in a rent stabilized, and tax-payer funded, apartment.

Christine Quinn? Makes me suspicious of what's behind this and in it for her. She is a model for what is a politician. She would be proud of that but I do not mean it as a compliment.

what is the timeline for this? I'm interested and would like to know when and how i can apply?

There are housing programs for the poor, but what about the people who are the "working poor" and single.

The programs currently on offer are not available to single, under-employed NYC residents.

Brian, Ask Christine why the city thinks it can do a better job at calculating the "market price" of a condo better than an individual consumer.

Brian
What about the Bloomberg administration's reckless approval and lack of oversight of overdevelopment of Williamsburg/Greenpoint with no intelligent planning for additional schools, public transportation, etc.....????

First, how is Quinn and the Mayor going to calculate middle income in NYC, as we all know the current formula is skewed. Second, she and Bloomber supported tax abatements that encouraged the luxury development in the city that destablizes the neighborhoods, does she accept responsability for that?

How can people apply?

Brian, Ask Christine how it makes the rental market more affordable when the city pays a landlord $3,000 a month to house homeless people in a 1BR apartment.

shouldn't NYC have more home rule? ( after all doesn't downstate pay most of the bills?)
would u ever run for state senate to save us from albany?

I understand this has nothing to do with the city's housing issues and I apologize for an off topic comment, but I am truly curious why Ms. Quinn is a proponent for continuing the horse drawn carriage industry in New York City? I also wonder if she has heard about the legitimate environmentally safe alternatives to this cruel industry like the electric antique and classic cars that could be used as a replacement. They could fill in nicely for tourists who want to enjoy a trip around Central Park without all the terrible issues surrounding having horses live and "work" in the middle of Manhattan's streets.

An artist & 23 year resident of the east village, I've recently endured an exhausting 4 year Holdover litigation for my rent stabilized apartment. I encourage anyone with a little free time to go down to the Housing Court at 111 Center Street & sit in on a few trials. You may be shocked like I, to the extent at which this system allows landlords to treat people like commodities. There are few issues more important affecting the health of this city.