Category: 4/15/16

This course has really taught me a lot about what is going on in New York. To be honest, I didn’t know much about the issues New York faces before I took this class. In previous Macaulay seminars we learned about the art and history of New York, but never leaned about present day New York and its happenings.

I got to learn about the affordable housing crisis more in-depth than I ever had. Also, while doing research for my group’s final presentation about local shopping streets, I learned a lot about the dangers they face with the new generation and chain stores, and how we can try to help the local shop owners. But the topic I think interested me most was talking about technology in the workforce. I had always been a techno-pessimist when it came to technology and machinery in businesses. I always thought they were going to replace human workers and widen the gap between the rich and the poor who would not be able to find jobs. But while doing the reading I learned a lot more on the topic, not enough to change my perspective just yet, but enough to make me consider rethinking certain things. Also, I really liked the trip we took to Civic Hall. It opened my eyes to the benefits of technology and how it can be used to make people’s lives easier and better, such as the Benefits Kitchen app. I think this is a must-see for future classes.

The other students’ presentations at the Macaulay common event were not quite like ours and they didn’t hesitate to point that out. Most of their presentations were very factual, using a flood of numbers, percentages, and statistics but it made them less captivating. One group even proposed a new form of currency (I think it was virtual currency, like BitCoin) so that banks would not be needed anymore. But while our group was taking questions and comments, we got comments that the students liked our presentation because it was unlike the others and more relatable and heartfelt. It really got them thinking about what they could do to preserve local shopping streets.

Before this class, I knew about the housing crisis in New York City, but I did not know about it in great detail, nor did I know about shift from finance to technology or the crisis facing local shopping streets. This class has taught me to ask questions like: what should public housing look like, who should be eligible for public housing, should there be rent control, what are community boards, should they get more power, how has New York City shifted from a finance dependent sector to a technology dependent sector, what are the benefits of New York City becoming technology, what are employment prospects for New York City, what are problems facing local shopping streets, and many more questions that arose during this course. What is even more amazing is that I know how to answer these complicated questions with regards to zoning, affordability, gentrification, local city government, and many more themes that we discussed in class. All this is so relevant because I live in New York City and this is the city I hope to one day live, work, and shop in. This class taught me the importance of keeping up with local government, the importance of my vote, and that if we want to see a change in our city, we have to be the change. We (Macaulay and all other New York City college students) are the future of our city and if we hope to see a change in our home, we have to be that change. We have to get involved in our local community boards, pay attention to what our mayor purposes for the city, and the effects of those actions. And the only way we can do that is by being educated first. The things I learned in this class will absolutely play a roll in how I view our local political leaders and therefore, the vote I have to elect them. The issues and themes in this class are so vital because these issues are happening right where I live and affecting many others and myself. In addition, an important part of a being in a democracy is knowing the issues facing others and what can be done to alleviate or solve these issues.

During our discussion about the umbrella concept of diversity, the other students taught me the importance of being educated about other cultures and religions other than my own, and more importantly, being respectful of them. I know that might seem like something that is already known, but to discuss such an important topic in a college setting, in a respectful way, and proposing ideas and possible solutions to prevent terrorist attacks with my peers made me feel a part of a larger conversation happening. Being educated about such an important topic and ways to be respectful of people that are different than you just seems like something all adults should know, and something members of a functioning society should know.

A major theme (to me) in this class was society, and how housing, the economy, and shopping affect our society. However, this class taught me about the responsibilities I have to my society. It feels like it is my civic duty to know about the issues, cultures, religions, and government happening in my society. This came threw in my fellow Macaulay students’ presentations at the common event. Unfortunately, the session I was in seemed more applicable to the “How we work” team. They spoke about the city’s shift from finance to technology, Silicon City, and Silicon Valley (though they didn’t speak about Civic Hall). It was very interesting to see what my fellow Macaulay students thought about the city’s dependence on the tech sector via Bloomberg’s administration (if I remember correctly) and how this would affect New York City’s future. They predicted an increase in tech jobs. However, I don’t mean to brag about our class in particular, but I believe we talked about how this will affect the city’s future more in depth. We talked about what this will mean for people working outside tech jobs, coding, specialized intense classes to teach people how to code, and the program that might take effect in grades K – 12 to teach students how to code, and Civic Hall as a collaborative workspace. I think the other Macaulay students would have benefited from our trip to Civic Hall, to see how technology is affecting how we work today.

I can go on for pages talking about what this class taught me, and I’m afraid no matter how much I write, I won’t be able to do it justice. This class really taught me about responsibilities as a young adult, a member of a functioning society, and the importance of understanding the current events around me. I wouldn’t change a thing about the class. I hope that the future Macaulay students will be able to go on the same trips and do the interviews as well. I also really appreciated the way the course was split into how we live, how we work, and how we shop, and that each group still needed to keep up with the material covered by the other groups. However, I wish that we were able to discuss topics such as the environment (maybe not so much because this is discussed in seminar III), diversity, and urban terrorism more in depth. I really appreciated that my group stood out of the other groups presenting during my session, but incorporating the environment, diversity, and urban terrorism would set our class so far apart from the others and really make us unique.

From this class and my classmates as well as the article and experiences we analyzed in class taught me so much about the problems we face in New York as residents. We learned so much about the affordable housing crisis and how low income people are being pushed out of New York City by the forces of gentrification. Also what I found extremely interesting was the idea of the global North vs. the global south and the lack of social mobility in our society. Also learning about how the local government subsidized housing for lower income people by negotiating with developers to build new building and leave a certain number of those new apartments for low income housing. I loved how all what we talked about for the living in New York City section of the course and how it directly pertains to our lives in New York City.

The how we work section of the course was also extremely interesting. Learning about the effects of technology in New York City. Learning about how advancement of technology has destroyed some sectors of the New York City economy and grew others. For example one sector of the New York City economy that was decimated by the growth of technology is the production sector that employed low-level unskilled workers in New York. With the growth of technology more high-income jobs have been created leading to an influx of money into NY. This leads to gentrification and the increase of housing prices. This interconnection is what I feel is the basis of the class and learning about how we work and how that affects how we live and how it affects how we shop. Each section of the class plays into the other and the issues for one area maybe caused by another. That is what I liked the most about this course; it illustrated the complexities of a society such as our own and illustrated the issues that we will all have to face.

The interview for the how we shop team were extremely enlightening for life in New York City and how it is continually changing. Learning about the role local shopping streets play in a community and the benefits they offer. The Interviews we did with local shop owners taught me a lot about the real lives of these people and how they are real people with real problems. Also presenting at the common event really opened up my eyes to the many different problems affecting New York City. I learned a lot from how transportation in New York is extremely slow to how many lower income people aren’t provided with affordable healthy alternatives. However I thought that 10 minutes to present a semester long project was much too short and if all the different groups could have presented together or at least in the same session then our presentations would have illustrated a more comprehensive portrait of the problems in New York City.

Take Back NYC’s opening webpage states, “These small businesses – hard working New Yorkers who form the heart and soul of the greatest city on earth – are being replaced by the highest bidder, big box stores and chains whose only motivation is greater profits.” I think it is important to note the passion behind Take Back NYC. They feel that New York City has been taken from them by big businesses. They feel that “the heart and soul” of New York City is being lost. And although I agree with them in worrying what New York City will look like in 5, 10, or 20 years. I do not fully agree with everything that mention in SBJSA.

As a possible solution to sustain local businesses, The Small Business Jobs Survival Act (SBJSA) is a bill that has been introduced in the NYC City Council that would give commercial tenants three specific rights:

1. A minimum 10-year lease with the right to renewal, so they can better plan for the future of their business.
2. Equal negotiation terms when it comes time to renew their lease with recourse to binding arbitration by a 3rd party if fair terms cannot be found.
3. Restrictions to prevent landlords from passing their property taxes on to small business owners.

Last week we discussed the importance of local business, and this week has confirmed that when local businesses are forced to close because they can’t afford rent anymore, and a big chain store takes its place, it introduces gentrification in that area and although I think SNJSA is a great start to protecting local business owners, I’m afraid that a more efficient bill should be introduced to the NYC Council. What I mean is that I would like to see a bill that regulates property taxes, or introduces rent-controlled priced for local businesses, and possibly even rent-frozen prices for start-ups. I say this because local business owners can’t predict the economy or what NYC will look like in 2 years, let alone 10 years. If the economy had a pretty devastating year, and that year is enough to drive a small business to close, that local business will have been cheated a longer life because their weren’t enough laws put in place to protect it. In addition, when the economy fluctuates, people cannot afford to spend, which is why business owner Avi Saks does no want to pass his business down to his son. “Saks knows it’s not possible to raise a modern family on the revenue the once-thriving shop is now producing.” There could also be a bill that offers landlords incentives to keep the price of rent low for local businesses.

I agree with Tim Laughlin, executive director of the BID, in saying that, “If the goal is to preserve affordable housing and at the same time to protect independent businesses,” Laughlin argued, “we need to provide incentives for property owners to continue to operate their buildings.” How brilliant would it be if a bill or law gave incentives to tenants to keep the rents low for home-renters and business-renters? This could help people who can’t afford to live and people who can’t afford to work in NYC. Laughlin explains that offering tenants lower tax rates could do this. I think this brilliant! It would be able to keep people living in an area as well as working in an area as well. I see this as a potential tool against gentrification as well as protection.

I also think that community boards, and specifically local business owners, should be able to voice their thoughts when a big brand chain is introduced in their area. Giving them a voice would better represent what that neighborhood wants. If a bodega goes out of business in a particular neighborhood and a Key Foods is going to open in its place, what are the people in that neighborhood going to do if they can’t speak English or find the things they need. There needs to be more power allocated to community boards because it is their community that is changing, and unfortunately, most of the time their vices aren’t heard. Community boards need to be able to give more influence when a big business is going to come into the area because like Elisa Maldonado said, ‘“I feel [The Cast] is representative of the culture that was the Lower East Side,” she explained. “It’s about keeping that spirit, identifying with it and [making a statement that] “we do belong there!”’ So when a local business closes, the culture, spirit, or even authenticity of that area changes, and that directly affects the people living there.

Three Questions for Local Business Owners:

• How has the neighborhood/area changed since your business has been here?
• How do you see the neighborhood/area changing in the future?
• What do you wish you had known before opening a business here?

The best singular approach to keeping small businesses alive is giving them power in the lease negotiation process. It deals directly with the problem of increasing rents as opposed to the other two options mentioned in the article.

The first proposed solution, giving businesses a property tax credit, would not have as big an effect as other solutions because not all tenants pay a large cut of the tax. While this would certainly not be harmful in any way and would indeed allow owners to keep the rent reasonable, this does not prevent owners from increasing rent prices. The second approach, special zoning laws, would also be incredibly helpful but still does not directly address the problem of current renters being driven out. Zoning laws could prevent chain stores and other bigger retailers from attracting customers away from their businesses which would be helpful, but still the rent would probably increase due to other factors such as gentrification.

Ideally, the best way of tackling the problem of disappearing mom-and-pop shops is a combination approach with a heavy focus on media outreach. Small businesses need to make a name for themselves through word of mouth from generation to generation and the media. Their goal should be to market themselves to the current shopper without giving up their identity. Places such as Junior’s have become incredibly famous both within and outside of NYC, partially due to their media presence. Yelp reviews, Times articles, websites and any sort of online attention will help to draw a younger crowd. Most people I know look at Yelp before picking a place to eat. A business that has no online presence in this age is most likely doomed to fail.

My current place of employment, Ample Hills Creamery has recently been named as having the “Best Ice Cream in America” by Food Network. They now have six locations across Brooklyn and Manhattan and one opening up in Disney World. I have watched their business grow during my time working there and I have to contribute a huge portion of their success to their media presence. They have had extensive news coverage, been featured on Oprah, Good Morning America, and the list goes on and on. They update their Instagram and Facebook daily and work incredibly hard to collaborate with successful bakeries. In my opinion (keep this on the DL) Ample Hills’ ice cream is not that good. It’s really sweet, packed with other sweet things, and leaves you feeling like you need a nap. However, the owners hired some very bright, technologically savvy people and are now sitting pretty.

I know that small businesses owners generally do not have the time, money, and/or skill to invest in creating an online presence. However, if every small business were to hire a moderately priced web designer and ask their friends and family to rate them on Yelp, that might really make a difference.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. How did you get started in this business?
2. How do you feel about gentrification? How does it affect you?
3. Where do you see yourself in the next year? Ten years? Do you plan on passing this business to your children?

Small businesses are facing enormous problems in their fight to survive. It seems to me that the biggest problem that they face, one that each storeowner that we read about mentioned, is the rising rents. This is a major problem in today’s economy and market. If the rents keep rising, storeowners are forced to sell their businesses to people who can pay those rent prices but then went the rent goes up again, that owner cannot afford to keep his shop open in that location and has to sell to someone else until it happens again. It’s an ongoing circle that will continue until a big business who can afford the higher rents buy up properties and storefronts in a neighborhood comes in, thus leading to gentrification through down-up development and also leads to big businesses monopolies since small mom-and-pop stores may not be around and the big retail stores may be the only places to go to for the things you need.
I think that the Small Business Jobs Survival Act taken on by the organization Take Back NYC is a good start to fighting against the problems faced by local shop owners. It attempts to tackle the need for fair negotiations in commercial lease renewal between landlords and shop owners. For starters, there would be a ten year minimum on lease renewals. The landlord and tenant have 90 days to negotiate the terms and conditions on the new lease and if one party still does not agree to the new terms, a mediator or arbitrator is brought in to settle the dispute, hopefully without any biases toward landlord or tenant and he shall decide the rent price. This act seems pretty fair to me and I hope that this bill will pass so that tenants, shop owners, and landlords as well, can obtain the rights they need to fair prices and negotiations and that there can be less ill will between them.

As for 3 questions that I have for store owners:
1. Who are your customers? People from the neighborhood your store is in or perhaps people from other neighborhoods? People from the same community or ethnicity perhaps? It would be interesting to see how the storeowner would classify his customers.
2. Has rising rent prices affected your business? If so, what have you done to try to combat them and help your business stay afloat?
3. Are you aware of or do you take part in any organizations that try to help small shop owners maintain their businesses such as the ones mentioned in the articles we read? Do you think these organizations can have an impact on the problems your shop is facing today?

The number of local businesses in New York City has been steadily declining in part due to the forces of gentrification. What has been happening is that areas that used to house lower income people are now housing wealthier people. These wealthier people do not frequent local businesses and instead choose to go to more upscale businesses. Along with the decreased income these local businesses also face increased rent. Landlords who want to drive out these local businesses to make way for more profitable businesses increase the rent tremendously and these businesses have no alternative but to leave the place they have working for so long. As professors Zukin stated in her interview local government also plays a part in destruction of local shopping streets. While gentrification raises the rents that shop owners must pay the local government also raises the property taxes for single landlords to raise the rents higher. This affected David Owens a vintage shop owner on the lower East side when his landlord gave him a bill for $40,000 in property taxes. Instead of pay David Owens moved his shop a few blocks down the street where he can manage to pay the rent. While lower East side of New York has been subject to increasing rents for retail shops it’s still not nearly as high as places like the meatpacking district and Soho. While local shopping streets aren’t dying breed many people have been fighting for their existence and trying to ways awareness for the problem facing local shopkeepers. One such movement that is trying to raise awareness about the problems facing local shops is the take back to New York movement. This movement argues that it is not fighting for nostalgia it is only fighting for the right of successful local businesses to exist, employ people, and be a part of the community. While this is A good start for helping sustain local businesses it will not be enough. I believe the most important thing for local businesses to survive is the adoption of new technology to reach more customers. While people enjoy visiting local businesses they usually only visit businesses with an online presence. These local businesses can take advantage of the growing hipster movement that seeks to move away from produced products and consume new and creative ideas such as those offered by local business.

Three questions I would ask a local businesses owner would be:

1. Why did you choose to open a business and why did you choose this location?
2. What are the major problems facing local businesses like yours?
3. How has the community you working in affected your business?

The decline of small businesses is a widely overlooked consequence of gentrification despite the fact that their loss is just as impactful as the loss of low-income residents. Small businesses not only provide places shop and work, but are direct products of the cultural makeup of neighborhoods. Their loss and replacement by higher-income businesses also plays a role in accelerating gentrification by increasing the cost of living. Take Back NYC’s Small Businesses Jobs Survival Act is an attempt to stem the tide against small businesses.

However, despite the organization’s good intentions, the language of the act makes me concerned as to the impartialness of the organization and whether or not they are truly looking at every facet of the issue. My concerns are mainly focused on the language specifically targeting landlords, calling for laws that prohibit what Take Back NYC describes as “landlord abuses.” Certainly many of the things they listed as abuses are definitely horrible and should be prohibited. However, I think that the loss of small businesses is caused by more than just landlord abuses. The problem is systemic in that a lot of the change has been and is currently being propagated by the city government. It also does not help that the global economy has been suffering as of late. Foreign investors are looking for sure things to keep their money safe and that place is New York City real estate. Besides, some of the things that Take Back NYC describes as abuses such as passing on property taxes onto tenants seem to me as natural things to do. Property taxes are rising due to the rising property values. In both Small Business Survival articles, local property owner Michael Forrest argues against the popular point of view that most landlords are simply out to make money. He argues that like small businesses he values long-term customers and that he does try to accommodate them, but rising property taxes and other costs forces landlords like him to raise rents. Landlords have bills to pay too. Landlords make their money by owning land and renting it out while small businesses provide goods and services for profit. It isn’t unreasonable that landlords would want to pass on their costs to their customers as all businesses do.

Overall, Take Back NYC falls into the trap of targeting an easily-identifiable enemy and pushing its greater message on the back of attacking that enemy. While the intentions may be good and the technique is effective in gaining the most passionate supporters, like many causes that have employed this technique, the main goal and message will get lost in translation. Not to mention the act does little in actually solving the issue.

Solutions:

Finding an effective long-term solution to this problem will be tough, but I believe we can make great progress by being pragmatic and controlling the things we can control now. One thing we can control is property taxes. One solution that we can implement is property tax reform in that property taxes should be both progressive and based more on income rather than market value. Thus, landlords who own land with high value on the free market, but charge low rents will not be saddled with high property taxes. We can also provide incentives for landlords who intend to keep their rents low by paying for the difference in market value and current value in exchange. Also, since the tax is progressive it can decrease the amount of realtors attempting to gentrify the city. Those who wish to invest in city real estate are looking at a large tax bill.

Questions to Ask Shop Owners:

1. How long have you’ve been in the neighborhood? How involved are you in the neighborhood?
2. Who are your customers? Are most of them long-term customers or are they short term? Do you know many of your customers personally?
3. How has increasing rents/property taxes/cost of business affected your business? Have you had to increase your prices?

Many cities around the world are experiencing the same phenomenon where the face of the neighborhood, the local shopping street, slowly change to a more homogenous appearance due to growing chain stores. Such changes prime the neighborhood for “gentrification by hipster” as new art galleries, boutiques, and cafes, the ABC’s of gentrification, spring up. Eventually, as evidently seen in many of the current neighborhoods today, immigrants from various parts of the world attract to these neighborhoods to start up business such as retail and restaurants in search of more affordable rent and potential customers, instead of starting up in their ethnic neighborhoods. These three factors begin to reshape the local shopping streets in many global cities.

New York City, in particular, is an excellent example because unlike other cities such as Shanghai which has been experiencing gentrification due to local and national migration, it attracts millions of immigrants from various parts of the globe and this international migration seems to create super-diverse neighborhoods in many parts of NYC. Local shopping streets of NYC began to grow as numerous “mom and pop” retails have established since late 19th century, beginning with the Germans and then Jews that gradually settled in until the 1980s. There used to many authentic local retail stores on Orchard street, but many have long disappeared due to rising rent costs. One solution to sustain small business would be giving business Lease Renegotiation Rights. One of the main causes for closures of many small businesses is the failure of the commercial lease renewal process.  The grassroots advocacy organization such as Take Back NYC is actively supporting the bill, Small Business Jobs Survival Act. Under the bill, businesses have the right to negotiate terms when it comes to a renewal of their lease, and it also guarantees a minimum 10- year lease so that the businesses can prosper by expanding their business without worrying about the next lease renewal.

Decades ago, these local shopping streets were bustling with foot traffic which helped local stores sell many products, however with the advent of technology, old stores are losing customers to new stores that strategically have online stores. I think that bringing back the foot traffic will help improve these businesses. Such event can occur if the street can host a street party or a fair where they hold events and let the customers experience the lively feel of the authentic local shopping streets. We can perhaps also help old businesses catch up to current advances in technology. They don’t necessarily need to provide online shopping, but they should at least create websites that lay out their items, feature deals and sales, and present short business histories.

In the article, Small Business Survival: Government Gridlock Stymies Solutions, the author discusses several potential solutions to help small businesses thrive. One method that I think would be great is setting a tax rate. By doing so, incentives will be given away to landlords who provide rent relief to small businesses. If the owners agree to preserve affordable housing and to protect independent businesses, incentives like setting a tax rate will be provided. Although it is a complicated process and Mayor de Blasio has said the proposal will “not happen quickly or easily,” it will greatly benefit those landlords who wish to protect mom-and-pop stores because Michael Forrest, a local property owner, mentioned that there is “zero support for owners of tenements to preserve existing affordable housing. “

Interview Questions:

1. Who are your customers and where do they come from?
2. How has the neighborhood around your store changed ever since you began?
3. Do you incorporate technology like websites to your business? If not, are you willing to?

Rising rents in New York City are now not only affecting residential parts of various neighborhoods, but it is also affecting small businesses that are important to the history and character of New York. When property tax rates increase for landlords, they tend to place this burden mainly on the shoulders of small business owners who rent their spaces, resulting in tremendous rent increases when the tenants leases expire. For many small business owners, this eliminates any and all profit to the point where they are unable to support their business and are required to close down the business that they may have spent almost their entire lives nourishing. The SBJSA or the Small Business Jobs Survival Act is aiming to help long time businesses survive by giving rights of renewal to the business tenant when their lease expires and it “levels the playing field” for landlords and business owners by giving the tenants the same rights as landlords in negotiating fair lease terms. The act also says that if the two parties cannot agree, the matter goes to a procedure of arbitration in which a dispute is submitted to an arbitrator who make a binding decision on the dispute. I think that this plan is effective in allowing for more control to be given to small business owners over their rent regulations and the process of arbitration would provide for more fair grounds in the event that the landlords and renters cannot come to any sort of agreement. I think that another thing that should be targeted is the tax incentive that landlords have for refusing to renew leases and having empty space. These landlords are able to use the spaces left empty after a business closes down as a tax write off, and so they’d rather have the business close down. Something should be done to lower or completely diminish this ability of landlords to benefit off of having empty space present on their properties.

Three Questions:

Are a majority of your customers locals, or are they from outside of the neighborhood?

Has the rate of increase in rent been affecting your business profits, or the ability for your business to survive? Have you had to cut back on certain portions of your business in order to make ends meet?

How do you handle big chain brands that move into the neighborhood? Do you employ any tactics to keep customers coming to your store?