Andylusion
Platinum Member
So someone asked me what I thought of Kathy Hochel's housing plan, and I thought I'd give it a review.
So Iām a conservative, and my view of Democrats, and my view of New Yorkers, is basically below dirt.
Meaning my expectations that Kathy Hochul a New York Democrat, was that she would be a blithering idiot like AOC, and start saying stuff like sheās going to spend a tax cutā¦ spending money not collected... on subways and teachers. (and yes AOC did say something that dumb). AOC has really lowered the bar of intelligence for New York Democrats.
But, I have to be totally honest, the proposal from Gov. Hochul does in fact have some intelligent points to be made.
For example on page 13 of their proposal they full admit that regulations and restrictive zoning laws, have driven up housing and rent prices. That's like a sacred cow of Democrats, and Hochul admitted it caused the problems they were having.
Now they have to mix in the stupid, and try tying in that somehow zoning laws causes global warming and racismā¦. which is AOC level stupid. But at least they actually admit that yes in fact our endless regulations and zoning laws and restrictions do drive up housing and rental prices.
Then they also admit that yes in fact allowing more housing to be built will in fact improve the entire market, and help everyone involved, from the richest to the poorest. Which is true, and shocking they admit this.
But the revelations continue, because they also admit that āthrowing money at itā does not work. They actually spent the time to review the āincentivesā policies of California and other states, and found they didnāt fix the problem. Tossing money at problems, is not a solution, and never has been.
That is crazy that a Democrat admits their āwe just need more money! Tax the rich will fix all!ā answer to everything, doesn't work. That is next-level smart for a Democrat. So that was impressive.
See even people who are not conservative, and supposedly oppose conservative values, are eventually forced to admit weāre right. You can't look at the facts, and remove your partisan bigotry glasses, and not see that we're right.
So her proposal is to reduce zoning laws ā
Allow mutli-purpose zones ā
Allow basement apartments ā
Allow office space to be used for apartments and the reverse ā
Fast track for the approval process for construction and re-zoning āā
Allow property splits for higher density housing ā
Allow more duplex and triplex housing ā
Allow more townhouse construction ā
(and by the way, yes New York was preventing the building of duplex and townhouses. Then you act shocked prices are high)
And they also want to reduce the ārequirement of parking lot spaceā that results in stores like Walmart being required to have an entire football field of parking lot that isnāt used, while all the cars are parked near the store. ā
NOW THE DOWNSIDE.
No one gets everything perfect, and no Democrat policy would be complete without a little āletās throw some money at itā aspect.
So she wants to also give millions of dollars in subsidies, to have old un-used buildings either demolished or renovated.
And the problem there is that the moment you throw money at it, wealthy rich people are going to find a way to get that money.
Not in favor of this at all. Say Iām a super rich guy. I have no intention of every using this building I own at all. None. You think I wonāt take your money and renovate the building, so that my properties value goes up? Even if I never use it?
And additionally say Iām a rich guy and Iām already renovating the property. The moment I see this proposal, I call up all my contractors and stop all work. Then I wait and wait until this proposal is passed, and then I collect the subsidies, and have you pay for the renovations I was going to do anyway.
So, no, not in favor of the āthrow money at itā policies wrapped up in this proposal at all.
And lastly, this does not address the rent control laws.
Right now in NYC, there are an estimated one million empty apartments that are not even on the market, you canāt rent them at any price, because rent control makes them un-profitable to rent. So they are just are not available to rent.
And this is because of the rent control laws. Until those laws are repealed, no amount of other policies will fix this problem.
And rent prices will continue to climb higher and higher in NYC, because of rent control.
If you are a landlord, and right now you need to charge (Iām making up numbers to illustrate the point), letās say you need to charge $1,500 for an apartment to make a profit. Do you charge $1,500 for the apartment? No.
Hereās why. The rent control laws limit your ability to raise prices to 5% a year. That means next year you can only charge $1,575. But what if your costs as the landlord increase 10%?
Well now you are losing money next year. Because you need to charge $1,650, but you can only charge $1,575. So you are losing money now.
So you need to charge as much as you possibly can this year, so that next year if your costs go up, you can still make a profit. So might try and rent it out for $1,700. Or even more. You donāt know how much your costs are going to go up. But you do know youāll be limited to a 5% increase.
Rent control drives up prices. Always does. And if rent control makes renting the apartment unprofitable, then you donāt rent it.
Rent control is a MASSIVE problem in NYC and honestly anywhere itās ever been put into law. Kochul doesnāt want to deal with the Elephant in the room, and this proposal wonāt fix this problem.
Stillā¦ I will give her credit, this is in fact a conservative step in the right direction.