Suggestions from a New York real estate attorney
FOR AN EXAMPLE of how the good intentions of big government can produce extremely bad results, one needn’t look further than the rental housing market in New York City.
We have government-sponsored financing for low-cost housing. We have special housing bonds. We have public private construction projects. We have government agencies to help the private sector and nonprofits produce lower-cost housing. We have inclusionary mandates. Yet rental housing in New York remains more expensive than practically anywhere else in the country and suffers from a perennial “crisis” of affordability.
Earlier this year, New York revived a variation on its previously expired 421a tax abatement, first enacted in the 1970s to encourage new rental housing construction. Today’s version offers developers a tax break with a present value equal to one-half to two-thirds of the entire cost to build the project—assuming the developer jumps through some hoops that seek to help labor unions and deliver more “affordable” and rent-regulated housing.
Through these and other measures, officials claim to be trying to solve the problem of high rents. But the discussion always starts from the premise that government should do more. Rarely does anyone ask whether government should instead do less, even though decades of ill-considered policy caused the housing disaster that New York faces today.
Non-regulated rents in New York City are indeed extraordinary. Small one-bedroom apartments in Manhattan cost around $3,500 a month and generally rise over time, although a recent construction boom has led to a slight downward drift near the top of the market.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Gimme Shelter - The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?
The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?
AI Is Coming for Hollywood's Jobs
But so is everyone else.
AI Can Do Paperwork Doctors Hate
With help from AI, doctors can focus on patients.
Antitrust May Smother the Power of AI
Left alone, AI could actually help small firms compete with tech giants.
A Brief, Biased History of the Culture Wars
THE FIRST PAR AGR APH of the book jacket lays it out: “There is a common belief that we live in unprecedented times, that people are too sensitive today, that nobody objected to the actions of actors, comedians, and filmmakers in the past.
FAMILIES NEED A VIBE SHIFT
THE AUTHORS OF FOUR NEW BOOKSWITH 24 KIDS BETWEEN THEM-SAY THE AMERICAN FAMILY NEEDS A COURSE CORRECTION.
"The Past Is There To Teach Us What Can Happen'
Hardcore History's Dan Carlin on hero worship and moral assumptions in the study of the past
Cutting Off Israel
ENDING U.S. AID WOULD GIVE WASHINGTON LESS LEVERAGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THAT’S WHY IT’S WORTH DOING.
WHAT CAUSED THE D.C.CRIME WAVE?
GOVERNMENT MISMANAGEMENT, NOT SENTENCING REFORM OR SPARSE SOCIAL SPENDING, DESERVES THE BLAME.
States Turn Their Backs on Criminal Justice Reform
IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE to avoid the “strange bedfellows” cliché when reading about the criminal justice reform movement in the 2010s.
