The Times on the future of real estate: a push for equity, but also for more development; quick ways to add affordability

What Will New York Real Estate Look Like Next Year?, states a New York Times article, suggesting that the next primary election will help shape things.

There's a new recognition that more equity is necessary, but the power brokers want to push back on anti-development sentiment:

“This is not the time to double down on the narrative that business is bad, that development is bad,” said [former Deputy Mayor Alicia] Glen, who recently started a development firm, M Squared, which builds mixed-income housing in cities across the country. “We can’t play to the cheap seats of being against everything and everybody.”

And one result is a new push to put affordable housing in affluent neighborhoods like SoHo, with a rezoning on tap.

Trusting the real-estate establishment

One problem, from my perspective is the issue of trust. The Times reported:

A large expansion of Brooklyn’s Industry City complex, which developers said would create 20,000 new jobs, was quashed last month by opponents who doubted that claim

I posted a long comment and Twitter thread critiquing the Times for that framing since, even though it cited doubts from opponents, it deserved doubts from the journalists' voice, especially since the jobs claim had been demolished, as I'd written for City Limits.

Here's one way, upon reflection, that it might've better been framed:

A large expansion of Brooklyn’s Industry City complex, which developers dishonestly claimed would create 20,000 new jobs--a number not borne out when proponents faced City Council questioning--was quashed last month by opponents who doubted that claim.

Better zoning, more affordability

Also worth noting is a 10/23/20 op-ed in the Brooklyn Paper OPINION: ZONING FOR REALITY, by Mike Racioppo, District Manager of Brooklyn’s Community Board 6:

...As Brooklyn Community Board 6 urged, our city government should take strong measures to generate affordable housing. As CB6 (my day job) highlighted in a resolution last week, measures such as allowing homeowners to create so-called Accessory Dwelling Units — small, affordable apartments in converted garages, backyards, and inside private homes — within the existing context of communities should be permitted.

The city could also expand and should renew funding for The Basement Apartment Conversions Pilot Program. It should amend zoning and building codes to promote the legalization of thousands of existing apartments while making them safer for renters. Additionally, laws that currently ban such apartments within single-family zoned areas should be rescinded.

That would deliver a lot of affordable housing without major construction.