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The story about the Queens fire just gets sadder: Along with an elderly neighbor, three of Jennifer Gaston's children died in a dramatic Queens house fire. And Gaston's 8 year old son admitted starting the fire with a butane lighter. The Admistration for Children's Services asked Gaston to leave her two other children in temporary custody, but Gaston became hysterical. The ACS had received earlier, though unfounded, reports about Gaston, and neighbors are saying that Gaston didn't save her two surviving chlidren, as one was apparently at a friend's house.
The other big issue is how the home's most likely illegal subdivisions prevented firefighters from making more timely rescues (100 firefighters were used to stop the fire in about three hours). A friend says that while the basement apartment was not that great, many people didn't want to rent to a woman with five young children (Gaston and and uncle had been renting two basement rooms for $700-775 a month, raising her five children). One neighbor told the NY Times that the basement apartment that housed nine people was "like most of the basements in this neighborhood: a death trap. You have a thousand of them around here. Knock on any door. The landlord is greedy, and he doesn't care about nobody's life." The Mayor commented on how it's hard to inspect illegally subdivided spaces, but we'd wonder if he has other ideas, like ones for more affordable housing for the poor.
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MRB's plan for affordable housing includes building or preserving 165,000 units by 2013. Additionally, new residential uses have been encouraged in manufacturing districts, and rezonings in both commercial and residential areas have encouraged the development of affordable housing throughout the city.
Call me bitter but I'm not really sure where the governments responsibility lies in housing the poor? New York City is expensive. It is for everyone. The great thing about the US is you can move anywhere to better your economic condition. Why don't the poor move somewhere that better suits there economic needs. If enough do there will be a labor shortage which drive low paying job's wages higher allowing them to live here more comfortably. Hell my wife and I make $120k together(not great by NYC standards but ok by the rest of the US) and we can't even dream of raising a family in Manhattan. Do I ask the government to build me housing in Manhattan that fits my economic condition, no I just commute 2 hours to Manhattan from Suffolk County or Pennsylvania. Not great but not the goverments job to house me either.
Nice to see you guys have that compassionate Christmas spirit! I bet you were on the "gosh, why didn't those poor people just go somewhere else when Katrina hit" bandwagon too. Obviously you don't understand the concept of being so broke that you can barely stretch money to keep things going day to day. And in case you never realized it before, you need money in order to even make a move in the first place. Every kid may not be planned, but it's not to say that their parents don't love them and won't give them the best life they can. Unless you're gonna be paying for abortions or sterilization and/or adopting kids, shove that high horse up your ass.
I knew that comment would come off as uncaring.
The reality is that rent control and goverment subsidies make housing more expensive for the middle class and the poor who do not qualify or are waiting for that goverment housing. The owners of the burnt building responded to a need to house this person and her children when she couldn't get housing otherwise. A freer housing market would be better able to adapt to the various economic needs of NYC's citizens than the misguided and often overly expensive goverment solutions. The housing projects that helped lay waste to our inner cities in the 60's 70's and 80's should be more evidence of this than anyone needs.
so your solution for creating more affordable housing is to get rid of the remaining rent stabilization laws, allowing slumlords to jack up all rents to market price? ridiculous.
as if you are anyone to be complaining, making over 100K a year. believe it or not, there is a world outside your corporate job and your UWS apartment or Penn. home or whatever.
Revoking rent stabilization would absolutely have a disruptive effect on housing prices in NYC. The true housing cost is set by the market though. That lady living with her children in the illegally sub-divided house is essentially subsidising the $700 rent stabilized apartment in Manhattan. The effect would be a quick bump in rental prices, a reshuffling as people move to areas that are more within their means, some people will be able to move up, some will have to settle for less but the overall effect is that average cost should go down relatively in the long term. Rent stabilaztion, rent control and government housing are like lotteries that benefit the few at the expense of the many.
As for myself, I don't make $100k, my wife and I both working hard together make $120k. We own a 1 bedroom condo in Suffolk county a 2 hour commute each way to the city by train every day. (I'ld live in Manhattan in a second if I could afford it) We pay $1,500 a month in mortgage for the privilege. We don't live a priveleged life but we do feel very lucky that we had parents that taught us the value hard work and education.
The idea of bringing up 1 child let alone 5 like this lady is scary. I feel bad for her and her children. She has and will continue to live a hard life. There is a place for goverment in helping her but you must remember that some laws have unintended consequences, and perverse incentives that do the opposite of what intended.
Do people really think LL's would lower the rent if Rent stabilization laws were gone?
Has anyone in this Nation had their rent lowered?
for any reason? By the landlord?
the only thing LL's give you are those dopey referal payments and it's like $100.
Thank goodness my mom will be eligible for SCRIE soon.
rev pays: your probably right, it seems that it was well intentioned law with unintended consequences that now everyone is stuck with. It will never be repealed. Sometimes my wife say, just live in reality. She's right. Rents don't ever go down....
The law of supply and demand, if you remove the poor bums that pay 180$ (One hundred eighty, really, it was in the post) for a 2 bedroom on the upper east side the supply goes up and when the initial jump in demand weins the prices will stabalize and rents overall will be much less for the middle and lower class. Sub-dividing will still be going on because there will still be a market for it but it will put an end to these dumb schmoes who work 1 day a week and pay pennies in rent while I foot the rest and they get all the benefits of the city while I'm in work not enjoying it. Sounds like the middle sucks, maybe I'll quit my job and live the good life the semi-homeless way.