Mar
16
Living in New York throughout my whole life, my family and I have experienced firsthand the fluctuations of rent prices throughout the suburbs, and the drastic changes that have occurred post-recession. As a family of immigrants, coming to New York was a great opportunity for my parents to be able to live reasonably in a fantastic metropolitan area that had also had reasonable living prices. But as explained in “Renters and Their Homes”, the renting reality in New York is definitely not what it used to be in 1995 or even in the last decade for that matter. Not surprisingly, rents are high across NY but especially in Manhattan, as rental prices have been increasing at a faster rate than income. This main theme reminds me of previous articles and discussions in class regarding the underlying factors of why rent is so much more expensive in Manhattan than in the other suburbs. The City has gradually been serving primarily the rich-income families and upper-class, with construction consisting of expensive condos and single family homes. Gentrification of once affordable neighborhood is definitely one leading cause that I believe has spurred the growth of these types of communities; many of which have pushed out low to even middle income families.
In my opinion, I do not see many problems within Manhattan specifically if more housing developments are constructed specifically for the rich. I believe this will be beneficial only if two conditions or incidents occur as a result of more affluent developments. First, if the high-income families actually do live within these housings and do not leave them vacant, then they can contribute to the city’s economy via property taxes, expenditures, and supporting local businesses within the City. Additionally, these high-income families often do consist of highly educated workers, and so, can also assume more jobs within the area since there are numerous corporations headed in NYC. The finance industry for example, has partially been responsible for the more gentrified communities as finance professionals have moved to NYC for their jobs. Second, and more crucially, if the first condition is truly met, then the wealth being generated for the state must be redistributed equitably through better school funding, welfare, and housing subsidies for low-income families. There must also be housing available for middle-income families within NYC or cheaper alternatives in the nearby suburbs.
Currently, this is definitely not the situation within New York as a whole. As stated in the article, low-income renters were more rent-burdened than other income level renters, which I found to be both unsurprising and very unfortunate. This issue is not only a state-specific one, but a national one as well. I have heard the classic story of the family that cannot afford the essentials such as food, education, electricity, etc. because most of their monthly income goes towards rent far too many times. This story has become a common consequence of income inequality as families are forced to live in neighborhoods where rent increases arise due to gentrification, housing development costs or arrival of higher-income residents. The fact that a majority of rent payers spend 30-50% and above on their rent is very alarming, and makes me think about the effects it has on the families’ quality of life.
Moreover, I think that Figure 3.2: “Median Gross Rent (2013$) by Borough” illustrates the differences between boroughs as well, as higher rent alludes to the ‘better’ or well-favored and established boroughs. These differences arise from the same reasons that I mentioned previously; higher-income residents migrate to similar places and then gentrify an area, largely blocking out other income classes that used to thrive in those areas. Manhattan for example, has seen significant increases in rent from 2005, and definitely a larger change than the other boroughs. Brooklyn and the Bronx, both of which have historically been known for lesser living conditions, lower quality of life, schooling conditions among other characteristics relative to these other boroughs, have both increased less than their counterparts. Queens has a varied mix of income residents across its towns, and so, has a median gross rent increase reflective of its inhabitants.
New York needs serious housing revamps that allows more affordable rental housing to be constructed and accessible by the general public. It is a very disheartening statistic to see a 22 percentage point decline from 2000 in affordable housing as there is only 49% of available units that fall under affordably priced during 2012. The housing market is definitely constrained within NY and needs to be addressed with rent-stabilized units as well as changes or restrictions as to how neighborhoods are becoming gentrified. Since NY is truly a city of all income-classes, there must be limitations set up as to how the upper-income class can encroach on the living spaces of middle and low-income classes. If middle-income families are moving out to suburbs because rent and the living costs of the City have become unsustainable, then how can we ever expect low-income families to thrive within New York? Then NYC will not uphold its heritage as a city for all kinds of immigrants, regardless of income class.
