I have passed countless buildings on the way to school each day, that had boarded up windows and doors. It never occurred to me that these buildings weren’t boarded up because they were unlivable, but because the private owners were waiting for prices to rise in order to sell/rent the apartments. It is absolutely absurd that corporations and people could be that greedy; depriving thousands of New Yorkers of a place to call home, as Picture the Homeless has shown. I don’t know much about economics and how much saving a couple dozen apartments could profit an owner, but this practice needs to be fixed. In a way, the city is losing money because it is making shelters for the homeless and providing other such services. If owners of these boarded-up apartments would just have a little bit of compassion, it would benefit the entire city for sure. It’s not like opening up affordable housing is a complete loss (again, I am no economic guru). The rent from these newly opened spaces would provide a steady income, and the city could direct the funds used for homeless benefits to provide for other services to further improve the city.

Questions: Should there be an incentive for owners to open up their boarded up housing? If so, what possible incentives could be provided?

“Theoretical Perspectives on the City” discusses Emile Durkheim and how he viewed the rapid change from rural to urban society life of Europe during that time. Durkheim had a very interesting theory about traditional small communities (gemeinschaft) and the modern urban society (gesellschaft). He said that the people of these small communities were equal in many ways; they had similar jobs, the same religion, same global view, and everyone is close to or related to one another. This creates a sense of community, and bond between the people of the neighborhood. This can directly to apply to NYC neighborhoods because it truly explains the development of small communities, like “Little Italy” or “Chinatown.” These neighborhoods are created and thrive because the people are so similar, in ways of their religion, worldview, and sometimes occupations. That sense of similarity helps them to expand and interact within their neighborhood, without having to leave the comfort that familiarity brings. However, neighborhoods with a mix of different type of people and occupations also have a reason to thrive; because they have different occupations, they depend on one another out of necessity. This is a theory that could explain the other neighborhoods of mixed occupations throughout the city.