Author: nataliah

This seminar to me was the most challenging of them all. It required us to think critically an devise solutions to seemingly unsolvable issues. The housing crisis in New York is an ongoing one that affects many people from the very rich to the very poor.In this section it was important to look at every possible angle of the problem to just fully understand its intricacies and various issues. As part of the housing team I really enjoyed researching and realizing that it is impossible to make everyone happy and the ones who almost always get the short end of the stick are the poor. I feel that this section of the course made me more aware of the politics involved with government projects and how the solution will be a compromise in which not everyone may be included.

The How We Work section of the course was also very eye opening. I believe that it is important for the city of New York to diversify its economy in order to prevent a financial collapse if there is ever another crisis in the finance district.
The idea of civic tech, technology to help people with government agencies and the process of improving the technology of the federal government looks to be a step in the right direction and something that should be expanded and funded by the city. Technology although an profitable enterprise should not be the only one to have a piece of the New York economy. This section showed how manufacturing jobs are slowly decreasing to the benefit of start ups who use their space as a location for their start ups. Those who suffer are the unskilled workers who now must compete in a smaller job market.

All in all, this course made me more aware of what is happening in our city now and what may happen in the future. Although, things may seem a bit bleak for the lower class there are some glimpses of hope in community boards and other tenant organizations. organizations that provide training to unskilled workers so that they can better compete and enter a larger job market.

The “Silicon Valley” exhibit at the New York Historical Society was not what I expected, I had envisioned more of a present portrayal of tech innovation. Nevertheless, I found the exhibit very informative. I learned to appreciate the communal environment technology is in. Everything is an improvement on its predecessors, there needs to be many people involved to create a great product and have a constantly relevant industry. It is partly for this reason that I believe there has been a shift in how the tech industry is funded. In the “early” days of tech you would have one large company funding innovation. Today, we see various companies of different sizes from the all powerful Google to the newest start-up. It is this increase in competition and sharing of ideas that has enabled such a boom in the tech industry.

The visit to Civic Hall has definitely swayed me to be a tech-optimist. I had no idea that there was tech firm involved in streamlining government processes. In reality anything that saves my tax dollars from being unnecessarily wasted is an amazing idea. I also really liked the idea behind making it easier to obtain government benefits. I believe that these are noble causes and serve an amazing purpose. The only thing that disheartened me in a way the funding for some of these sites. For example the benefits on was completely funded by its creators. I think this could make it a bit harder to follow through with a great idea if you don’t have the funding and are expected to present a finished product to the people that would then fund the project. Despite this I think Civic Hall is a great space to bounce of ideas and be around people who have similar goals. Like I stated previously this is essential for innovation. The work that is being done there is worthwhile and I hope it will spark a larger civic tech movement.

This week’s readings were mainly about tech companies in Brooklyn. The rezoning plan in Sunset Park illustrated the possible risks of rezoning industrial areas for more expensive and white collar establishments. The large latino/asian community on the waterfront is at risk of being put out of their jobs if this plan is approved. The community board of Sunset Park has responded to this plan with a resounding no because they realize how it will affect the community. The other two articles explained the new tech industry that is budding in Brooklyn. The Ferguson textile company that is now based in Brooklyn is interesting because it provides training for workers so that they may obtain skills that will help them gain higher earning jobs in the future. They were also getting paid a much higher wage than most textile workers at $10-$15 an hour. The tech triangle also did something similar to this in providing training for unskilled workers to work as film production assistants. One company stated that they had hired about 120 people in the last year. They did not state what type of positions were filled by these new employees but it is important to note the creation of jobs that this one company had. All of this has made me a tech-optimist in the sense that there are jobs being created and that some companies do want to contribute to the community and help unskilled workers earn a living wage. However with regards to the situation with Sunset Park, I still consider myself a tech-pessimist. We could be looking at a future in which most of the city’s unskilled workers are having to commute long distances to get to work because the city is simply not affordable. Although it is good that these companies are trying to reach out to unskilled worker to ensure they have a future in the industry I believe that they should also take into consideration that when they move into a neighborhood at an affordable price for them, they might be displacing one of those same workers they want to help. It is a tough issue to completely take a stand on since it has so many different faces, I am hoping that the trip to civic hall will help dispel some of my reservations about the tech economy in New York

New York’s tech industry has been growing rapidly over the past decade. The city has seen a 71 percent increase in employment in tech jobs since 2004. Having a booming tech industry can be immensely beneficial for our city. New York has been quite dependent on the financial sector in the past, something like the economic recession of 2008 could be disastrous. The tech industry is always cooking up new things. With a constant stream of technological advancement, it becomes possible for technology to become an integral part of various other industries. One of the greatly important aspects of the tech industry here in New York is its potential for giving citizens power to inform themselves at the touch of a button about anything regarding their daily life. With technology like this transparency in all things can be commonplace and not something we have to fight for. The ability for tenants to record unacceptable housing conditions or for workers to report unsafe work conditions and know what to do with the information they have gathered would go a long way in giving the average citizen in a city of 11 million a voice. The tech industry is a hub for innovation and ideas. Failure is not seen as a bad thing. Workers in this industry have a large range of options in what they can do. Innovation is one of the thing our city needs to continue to be one the greatest cities in the world.
Although, there are many benefits to the tech industry taking root in NYC there are also some possible downsides. In the article published in The New York Times, it is explained what is happening in San Francisco now that the tech industry has practically taken over. Rents become too high, tenants are evicted, working class people can no longer afford to live in the city that they work in. There was also a controversy wit one tech company founder complaining of the homeless and “riffraff” that he was “forced” to see on his way to work. This is a tech industry that has gotten to big and is strong arming the very people that have allowed it to take place out of their homes. This is part of the reason that I believe civiv tech is rather important to our city. It can be a bridge between the industry and people. Also if the people can use civic tech to build a case against a bad landlord or boss, they can surely use it to protect themselves from displacement.

This week’s readings focused on the globalization of technology and it’s future in the urban environment. As I was reading, I realized that I was a techno-pessimist. The New York that i began to imagine was an elitist city where only those who are rich and wealthy with “ideas” were able to reside. I read mention of how India relied on its cities for its advancement. How there was no need to tip a barista because a phd holder was in effect the cause for the barista’s higher wage. There was no mention of how high the living expenses are in a city compared to a small town. How despite higher minimum wage, there are still undocumented immigrants working 14 hour days to make ands meet. The working class makes up a large portion of the population, the author portrays a city which progressively becomes more populated with richer and more educated people. I went to work today with this on my mind and I realized that my job could be done by a computer, people could order food through an app, the food could be packaged and delivered without one human hand thrown into the mix. This could happen at any restaurant and people like me could be put out of a job. This is what the working class has to look forward too.

I would like to be a techno-optimist. I hope to one day be rich and be able to afford a house in the city. I love that so many things have been automated and my phone makes my life a million times easier. However, I have to think about people like my parents who have come to this country to seek “opportunity” and to think that another door will be shut in their face is infuriating. If technology is to advance in this city it should benefit everyone, not just those with “higher” education and wealth. I realize that these people are a key factor in any type of advancement but another key factor is the consumer and if the consumer cannot afford the product than the product will fail.

This weeks articles dealt with how some communities have dealt with gentrification and what the city government is doing to provide more affordable housing to low income residents. Upon reading the articles it becomes clear that there is a large rift in the relationship between the city’s government and its residents. The trust is simply not there. What the Crown Heights Tenant Union accomplished with the a relative small increase in 1 year leases is admirable. However, the fact that that they had to sign petitions, and protest, and pass through metal detectors to attend the hearing is proof of the city’s reluctance to mediate an agreement between landlords and existing tenants. De Blasio’s plan for the East New York is new and a work in progress, the residents of East New York do not see the good it can bring to the neighborhood and are worried of the implications of allowing private investors to build. This issue could be remedied be the working together of both the city and the residents to draft up a plan that will satisfy all parties involved. It is here where organizations like The Crown Heights Tenant Union can come in handy, by expressing their concerns and the needs of the neighborhood the residents can have a say in what the future of their homes will look like. As is stated in the article by Ethan Corey, “there is power in numbers” if enough residents join a community union like the CHT, the city will be forced to take them seriously. For this reason it is my opinion that for a public housing site we should stress the importance of joining the local organization if there is one and if not, how to start one. It is also important to inform the general population of their rights as tenants. Also included with rights as tenants, would be various examples of housing that has gone up in price around the city in the past few years. Buildings that offer a percentage of their units as “affordable” would also be listed. Giving the public this type of information will enable them to make an informed decision on how to traverse the affordable housing crisis that has befallen the city in the past decade,

I chose to write about the Amalgamated Housing Cooperative in The Bronx. I think this is a very interesting type of housing. This living space was one of the pioneers in its field. It started with a group of immigrant workers, tired of living in tenement houses with landlord who took advantage of their need. It is now one of the most successful co-ops in the city. I did not have much knowledge of co-ops before this exhibit. However, after a bit of research I found that in this type of housing, all of its residents own shares of the corporation that owns the development. In addition to the share price, residents pay additional fees for the upkeep and maintenance of the co-ops. This type of living is very efficient as the residents can be their own tenants and landlords. The fact that they all own shares, motivates a community mindset. I believe if done right, co-ops can be one of the many solutions to our present housing crisis.

The shortage of affordable housing for New Yorkers is a fast growing problem that can only be solved with combined efforts from all parts of the housing industry. Public housing was once viewed as a “springboard” to a better future. It is now seen as a holding for society’s poor and undesirable. The fact that 1 billion dollars in funds was found to be stagnant while housing has been deteriorating for decades is a pretty large indicator of where we’re at.  As Mayor De Blasio’s plan astutely points out, usually in a free market economy, when an item is in large demand, it is produced to meet demand. However, this is not occurring within the housing industry today. Various government regulations stand in the way of building projects and therefore it is more profitable for the private sector to convert housing into condominiums and co-ops.

Many New Yorkers live in low income neighborhoods with very low income diversity People in these neighborhoods have little access to education, and jobs. These neighborhoods would benefit most from public housing. The idea of the “springboard” is one that should be reinstated as the goal for public housing. A place for the city’s low income residents to be relieved from the stress of being a severe rent burdened household and  work toward a better life.

Affordable housing is an issue that has no clear cut solution. The diversity of New York’s resident both socioeconomically and ethnically means that everybody has different needs when it comes to housing.  A multi faceted plan that combines forces from both government and the private sector can help fill those needs. It is in this way that we can keep New York a beacon of opportunity for all who come here.