Predicting doom and gloom for New York is all the rage. While we do face difficult fiscal choices for the next several years, those with skin in the game are contradicting this “death of New York” narrative — and offering a way out. Developers across the city are asking communities for nothing more than regulatory permission to add jobs, mixed-income housing and new high-quality public spaces. Yet just this week, Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer denounced a multi-billion dollar investment in offices and homes in Long Island City — shortly after denouncing 2,700 new mixed-income homes in Astoria.
The MTA is in worse shape, with NYC’s Independent Budget Office warning of an existential crisis for the Authority. The MTA depends on real estate transfer taxes, payroll taxes and sales taxes in its service territory to survive.
Why, then, are some still fighting against the very projects that seek to restore New York’s population, tax base and transit ridership?
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