My NYC Black Folk......Gentrification
- Thread starter Lewis Black
- Start date
It's happening all over. Jamaica Avenue is next
This is a major part of the problem, but this policy isn't what initiated the gentrification, nor the only factor. People only started gentrifying in Harlem and Brooklyn relatively recently. Giuliani's "cleanup" of the city (which, again, affected these vulnerable populations most) was a major factor, as was Bloomberg's vision of NYC as a "luxury city," as another poster pointed out. Rent control, misguided as it was, was meant to protect vulnerable populations- any policy changes should ideally take that into account, since simple deregulation will not do that, either.
Does NYC have laws similar to DC where a certain percentage of the homes/apartments available must be affordable income housing?
That hasn't protected DC neighborhoods from gentrification. I do know that NYC has a housing lottery that is supposed to be income blind, so you could end up with affordable housing in the City at a good rate, but I highly doubt that this is going to protect people from losing their homes. It's such a tiny percentage of housing, and property managers often find a way out of reducing the majority of home prices.
same thing is happening in detroit...only thing is the Hipsters here aint afraid to live in the trill areas...hate to say it but they come off more authentic.
either way i'd rather live somewhere with some nice storefronts, happening nightlife (that doesn't include attempted murder) and shops.
The problem is that black folks wont be able to afford to participate, but alot of it is because we DONT WANT to participate. If more black folks shopped at Whole Foods, more black folks would WORK at whole foods simple as that.
The way of thinking gotta change. Hipsters may be annoying but you cannot deny the good they are doing in some of these areas
either way i'd rather live somewhere with some nice storefronts, happening nightlife (that doesn't include attempted murder) and shops.
The problem is that black folks wont be able to afford to participate, but alot of it is because we DONT WANT to participate. If more black folks shopped at Whole Foods, more black folks would WORK at whole foods simple as that.
The way of thinking gotta change. Hipsters may be annoying but you cannot deny the good they are doing in some of these areas
New York City's becoming a city for the rich, and I say becoming because the boroughs were supposed to be affordable......leave the high prices in Manhattan......now, anything within a 20-30 min commute to the city is overpriced and wages aren't rising fast enough to meet the COL increases. Its like they think everyone in NYC are investment bankers & lawyers. What about the muthafukka who drives buses or works at Grand Central. fukk he supposed to do? 
A city can't run when 70% of its inhabitants can't afford to live there. This is what you get when you let greedy real estate developers run freely. Check it. NYPD starts rookie cops off at $25,000-$35,000. You hit $60,000 5 years in and you top out at $75,000....not including overtime. So for the first 5 years, you're earning $2,000 a month after taxes? Where the fukk you supposed to live in the city (you have to live in NYC to be NYPD) on $2,000 a month? Apartments in BK/Queens/Harlem are $1,200-$1,400 and that's not even including all your other expenses And that's for a shytty one bedroom in the hood, around the same nikkas you locking up 
GOAT City
A city can't run when 70% of its inhabitants can't afford to live there. This is what you get when you let greedy real estate developers run freely. Check it. NYPD starts rookie cops off at $25,000-$35,000. You hit $60,000 5 years in and you top out at $75,000....not including overtime. So for the first 5 years, you're earning $2,000 a month after taxes? Where the fukk you supposed to live in the city (you have to live in NYC to be NYPD) on $2,000 a month? Apartments in BK/Queens/Harlem are $1,200-$1,400 and that's not even including all your other expenses And that's for a shytty one bedroom in the hood, around the same nikkas you locking up GOAT City
Francis White
i been away to long, my feeling died.
It is happening already, i was over there recently and i could not believe how much the area had changed.
I started noticing it back in 2008. I cannot imagine how it is now.
I am assuming all that construction on the subway station next to the movie theater is done now? The Q5 was starting to get a bit different...and that runs THROUGH Merrick.
I wonder what the shopping strip down there looks like now
Francis White
i been away to long, my feeling died.
It looks nice, they did a great job cleaning the place up, i think it was a wake up call to the old residents to get down or lay down because i do see the black businesses have cleaned up and want to stay, they see the big picture which is they have a more affluent customers and can do more with them than the old time bums who used to shop there.I started noticing it back in 2008. I cannot imagine how it is now.
I am assuming all that construction on the subway station next to the movie theater is done now? The Q5 was starting to get a bit different...and that runs THROUGH Merrick.
I wonder what the shopping strip down there looks like now
the next guy
Superstar
That's right. Time for nikkas to stop crying and get that paper ya heard?
thats what i don't get...
so the hipsters moved into Midtown...bout to open a Farmers Market...and you are mad why? nikka you don't want to eat better? You don't want to want to stop eating that off-brand generic processed shyt?'
the hipsters moved in and opened a coffee shop...nikka you drink coffee EVERY morning...including weekends. What do you have against a coffee shop where you can chill and read the sunday paper...
shyt is stupid...and baffling...people kill me having fear of things that they didn't create.
the next guy
Superstar
It's crazy. It's like they dont want to get better, all to hold to hold on to something that took lives away.
ogc163
Superstar
I didn't say it was the initiating factor or was the only factor, but it took away the incentive to provide new housing for poor and middle class families and instead lead and continues to lead firms/landlords to focus mainly on new housing for upper middle class/wealthy people. The cumbersome legal process and rent-seeking relationship driven paradigm leads to a limited number of companies building housing for poor and middle class people. A decrease in crime has been prevalent throughout other major cities and yet the problem of artificially constrained supply of housing has been exclusive to a small number of cities, so I don't see lower crime as being a major variable. Rent control was meant to protect vulnerable people, but leads to artificially high rents on buildings that don't have it because the lack of new buildings leads to desperation on the part of new tenants. Unfortunately even though there is little intellectual support from either left or right leaning economist as it relates to rent control, I fully expect the misguided policy to stick around for a long time.