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Ask A Native New Yorker: What's The Biggest Challenge Facing NYC in 2016?

Gothamist Staff

Published Jan 15, 2016

Modified Jan 15, 2016

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Vincent Laforet, Courtesy Fahey/Klein, Los Angeles

Gothamist Staff

Published Jan 15, 2016

Modified Jan 15, 2016

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Are you relatively new to this bustling metropolis? Don't be shy about it, everyone was new to New York once upon a time, except, of course, those battle-hardened residents who've lived here their whole lives and Know It All. One of these lifers works among us at Gothamist—publisher Jake Dobkin grew up in Park Slope and still resides there. He is now fielding questions—ask him anything by sending an email here, but be advised that Dobkin is "not sure you guys will be able to handle my realness." We can keep you anonymous if you prefer; just let us know what neighborhood you live in.

This week's question comes from a New Yorker who's very worried about the city's future.

Dear Jake,

With unprecedented development throughout the five boroughs, dwindling unemployment rates, plummeting crime ("overall"), and a seemingly unstoppable upward growth trajectory, some would say New York City is nearing or has reached a peak of sorts. Then there are others who can say the exact opposite for each "milestone" I just mentioned.

Our homeless population has never been greater, poverty is ubiquitous, displacement and ephemera are on the rise as gentrification encroaches on all five boroughs and brings about displacement of residents and businesses alike, as well as that of the local culture and character that characterized these neighborhoods, and all the while, the city's environmental weaknesses and vulnerability to natural disasters have been exposed in the context of climate change and an increasingly warming world.

All things considered, what will be (or should be) the most pressing issues for New York City in 2016? What can the average New Yorker do to help? Any additional thoughts?

Also, this is completely besides the point, but given the bleak conditions currently when looking at affordability in New York, what cities would you recommend a native New Yorker like myself consider relocating to, if only just to fantasize?!

Sincerely,
Your fellow native New Yorker from El Bronx

A native New Yorker responds:

Dear Amigo,

Take heart! We may have our problems, but in the context of a world rapidly going up in flames, our problems ain't so bad. They're the kind of problems that are solvable if we commit to solving them and make some small sacrifices. When you despair writing your monthly rent check, think about the guy starving in his blockaded Syrian village, who'd give anything to be in your place.

Our most pressing problem remains the terrible, severe, no-good, getting worse housing shortage, which is the root cause of many secondary problems: homelessness (the vast majority of our homeless families simply can't afford current NYC rent), gentrification (people seeking more affordable housing in new neighborhoods price out those poorer than themselves), poverty (if you spend 50% of your income on rent, you don't have much money to spend on anything else), school segregation (as housing becomes more expensive, school zones become less and less diverse), and police-community relations (high rents force the poor into ever more segregated neighborhoods at the outskirts of the city, where policing becomes more brutal).

A young Jake Dobkin and his father discuss the scourge of late-capitalism on a Park Slope stoop in 1984. (Courtesy Jake Dobkin Private Collection)

You can even connect the housing shortage to our increasingly imperiled climate (those oligarch condo buildings are terribly energy inefficient!), our epidemic of government corruption (the excess profits being earned by our city developers get spent bribing government officials to perpetuate the current system of wasteful tax-breaks, loopholes, zoning, etc), and transportation issues (the potential L train shutdown Gothamist reported this week is crippling precisely because so many people have moved to northeast Brooklyn looking for affordable housing over the last 15 years, and this creates overcrowding on the JMZ and L lines, which have never gotten the attention they needed from the MTA).

Some good news: after many administrations who ignored or actively encouraged the decline of our affordable housing stock, we have both a mayor and a governor who are putting significant resources into new construction of affordable housing, and preservation of existing units. Sure, these guys can't stand each other and will probably end up wasting a lot of money by refusing to sync up their plans and larding them up with developer kickbacks, but you can't say they're sitting on their hands.

The bad news: those "significant resources" are nowhere near enough to end this crisis any time soon. For that, we'd need a much bolder plan—a moon-shot that unleashes tens of billions of dollars to build hundreds of new affordable buildings, the kind of public development not seen in NYC since the years after World War II. Cities like Singapore have demonstrated that this can work. Cuomo and de Blasio probably don't have the inclination or ability to get something this big done—we're talking 500,000 or 1,000,000 new units of housing—it would require new taxes (which Cuomo opposes), epic rezoning battles (when de Blasio is currently losing on a fairly small effort to tweak the existing rules), and widespread public support, which doesn't yet exist.

What can you do? Don't give in to the fear being fanned by the New York Post and other conservative outlets—the ones that are trying to get you so scared of the homeless dude pissing on Broadway, or panicked over the latest front page crime—that you lose your focus on the root cause of our problems. Remember: those fascists want to make the situation worse by getting rid of the affordable housing protections we have now, so the big developers can make even more money than they already do. They want you so terrified that you vote Republican, in this year's presidential election and in next year's mayoral race. Don't fall for it—remember the immortal words of Yoda: "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

Instead, go the opposite way: use your time and your money to support the politicians and not-for-profits who are already fighting the good fight, and use your voice to encourage them to go further—much further. When NIMBYs in your neighborhood say "there's just no room for any more affordable housing here," stand up and say that's wrong—every neighborhood has at least a few parking lots, garages, and underused city parcels that can be built on. When they say "what about the school crowding" say "let's build more schools." When they say "what about my property value?" remind them that their property value depends on this city having room for workers at all income levels, and if we don't provide it, those workers will move to cities that do. What's that going to do to your housing value?

And don't leave. Don't think of leaving. Stay and fight! There are still plenty of neighborhoods left where we natives can make our last stand. Places like Flatbush or Sunset Park, St. George, Woodside, or Mott Haven. Places where you can still find an apartment that's not so punishingly expensive and still walkable to the train, and where some local flavor still exists. Maybe not forever! But for now, and that's enough if we use this time wisely to make the city a better place for our kids.

N.B.: My dad has been involved in the fight for affordable housing in NYC for the last 50 years or so. His favorite slogans are "people before profits" and "housing is a human right." I'd like to thank him for his good influence on this topic by admitting that as a kid I never really understood how important the housing fight was, but now I do, and without his generation of activists NYC would be in an even worse spot than we are right now.

Ask a Native New Yorker anything via email. Anonymity is assured.

Tagged

advice

affordable housing

ask a native new yorker

de Blasio

original

Gothamist Staff

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