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The Most Infuriating NYC Real Estate Horror Stories Of 2015
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 29, 2015
Modified Dec 29, 2015
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 29, 2015
Modified Dec 29, 2015
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Perhaps you've noticed that New York City real estate is utterly rigged. From the bloodless glass boxes that blot out the sun to the rat-infested $3,000/month slums housing our neediest neighbors, the real estate industry and the corrupt politicians who enable it have transformed their shameless exploitation of the human right to shelter into an Only In New York! cliché. A vendor is scolded for selling $30 hot dogs, but with enough campaign donations your luxury condo project can expect $30 million in tax breaks.
Here are the most appalling real estate-related stories from 2015 that embody the spirit of attempting to play this endless game of chicken. Feel free to #share this list and your opinions with your local, state, and federal representatives.
Here’s What $550K Will Get You In The West Village
It helps if the "K" in “$550K” stands for the text message your rich parents send when you screenshot the Streeteasy listing for them.
Inside The Notorious Privately Run Homeless Shelter That Costs NYC Millions
Residents of the shelter at 60 Clarkson Avenue in Brooklyn faced violent crime, roach infestations, and ban on birthday parties. The costs to taxpayers? Tens of millions of dollars and letting down their fellow New Yorkers.
The Brooklyn Real Estate Bubble Will Never Pop
If you think you can outlast the stupefying heights of the Brooklyn real estate market, maybe it’s time to move to Queens.
You’re Now Priced Out Of Queens
OK, but they’re building some terrific stuff in Jersey City.
This Hell’s Kitchen Apartment Is Perfect For People Who Hate Distractions, Fresh Air
At $1,750/month, you can’t not afford to live there for a year then immediately move to some place even more expensive.
Market Rate SoHo Tenant Will Turn His Music Down If Rent-Stabilized Neighbor Pays $5,500
These kinds of rich people are the foot-soldiers for the Obscenely Rich people but at least the Obscenely Rich have subtler means of harassing their neighbors.
Cuomo’s Albany is Pricing Us All Out Of NYC
Make no mistake: there are real live human beings who are responsible for this sick joke. “Governor Glenwood” is perhaps the most culpable. See:
How Your Tax Dollars Are Wasted To Build Luxury Apartments
Taxpayers gave the real estate industry $1.1 billion last year to build housing that none of us can actually afford. Did we mention that the people who build these luxury apartments give a lot of money to Governor Cuomo and members of both state houses?
Some Urban Homesteader Is Living In A Bucolic Cabin On A Roof In Manhattan
It’s AsPiraTioNaL properties like these that have us dreaming instead of challenging the status quo. What kind of monster wouldn’t want to live here?
Are You Artistic Enough To Live In This New Luxury Williamsburg Apartment Building?
Of course, many New Yorkers are eager enough to exploit themselves. Whether you aim to live in a big dorm…
Haha Look At This Depressing St. Marks Dump With No Bathroom (That I Would Totally Live In)
Or a tiny dorm…
Walls Not Included: How Four Roommates Got Duped Into Camping In A $5K/Month Williamsburg Death-Trap
Or a dorm without walls or doorknobs or heat.
This Brooklyn Super Wears A Body Camera While Allegedly Carrying Out A Reign Of Terror
Racism, surveillance, and rising rents, all without ever having to leave your apartment!
The New York Times lubricates the jaws of the dream-eating machine.
“Our Home Is Not The New Frontier”: Bushwick Locals Fight New Luxury Development
Can a developer really receive millions of dollars in tax breaks while also capitalizing on and marginalizing entire neighborhoods? (Yes!!) But it's not just recent grads who see themselves as hearty, harmless "colonizers" ...
White Guy Who “Settled” Downtown Brooklyn Tells Us Why He Lashed Out At Stroller Couple
Even Native New Yorkers can be poisoned by the farce.
Tagged
2015
it doesn't have to be like this
real estate
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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