One thing I found most surprising is how abundant regulated rent is in NYC. According to the articles around 50% of rentals in the city are regulated in some form. I always thought regulated rental units were gotten through family members, bribes, or just pure luck and thought that there were wait-lists for years before anyone got them. Now I wonder how come, if so many rentals units are regulated, why are NYC housing still so inflated?

These articles also raise the questions of building regulation in NYC. I didn’t realize how slowly NYC built housing compared to other cities, and that it even lagged behind cities with declining populations. A lot of the inefficiency in new construction is blamed on building regulations. However, some of these are important regulations (such as if high schools have enough room for new residents). I think this is a major issue in NYC. Because it’s such a dense city, any new construction would mean almost every other facility in that area (like schools, police stations, transportation) would have to adjust to the influx of people. However, these obstacles shouldn’t block housing to such an extreme point that New Yorkers are forced to live in smaller, older, and more dangerous buildings than most other cities in the world. Even as the economy is picking up and new housing buildings are created, I notice these building aren’t for the average New Yorker, but more for the super affluence or foreign investor. More and more it seems like NYC is turning more into a place for workers and visitors, than for actual people, as NJ and the surrounding suburbs are picking up the NYC refugees.