Perspectives From Brooklyn 

And Beyond

► Against All Odds, NYCHA Does Something Right

Mentioning NYCHA is a conversation-stopper. Even Jumaane Williams deems the New York City Housing Authority the worst landlord in New York City. That’s in part because NYCHA has 178,000 aging apartments, but public housing’s problems in New York City are legendary: lead poisoning, mold, heating outages, broken elevators, crime, corruption. Despite it’s problems, NYCHA has been doing something right, but not getting much credit. Read more.

► The Biden Administration Is Encouraging The Conversion Of Empty Office Space To Affordable Housing

The White House announced new actions to support the conversion of high-vacancy commercial buildings to residential use, including through new financing, technical assistance, and sale of federal properties. Office and commercial vacancies across the country are affecting urban downtowns and rural main streets. A new blog released today by the Council of Economic Advisers finds that office vacancies have reached a 30-year high from coast-to-coast, placing a strain on commercial real estate and local economies. At the same time, the country has struggled for decades with a shortage of affordable housing units, which is driving up rental costs, and communities are seeking new ways to cut emissions, especially from existing buildings and transportation. The actions announced build upon the initiatives in the White House Housing Supply Action Plan, which is lowering housing costs, boosting housing supply, and promoting fair housing. Read more.

►  An Extremely Detailed Guide To An Extremely Detailed Map of New York City Neighborhoods

How is a neighborhood born? In a small pocket of the Bronx, the answer involves rising rents, a civil war and an air traffic controller at Kennedy Airport. Read more.

►  Our Cities Aren’t Dead Yet!

Reporters and analysts have found the expected return to pre-pandemic urban vitality of 2019 agonizingly slow or incomplete. The persistently high office and retail vacancy rates, homeless encampments, and elevated crime have inspired a wave of urban “doom loop” coverage, amplifying the worst-case situations and scenarios: cities will collapse under red ink, transit riders will never return, urban disorder has made cities dangerous and unlivable again, and so on. Coverage like this reliably attracts clicks and eyeballs but conspicuously overlooks telltale signs of resilience and adaptation. Cities are changing quickly post-pandemic, but failing to return to 2019 urban activity levels does not mean they are not recovering or have lost importance to business, culture, and sociability. Read more.

► Developers Are Betting On The Future Of NYC With Huge New Office Towers

It’s no secret that Manhattan’s office market is in crisis. Or is it? In the city, nearly 100 million square feet of office space is sitting vacant. But investors and developers are pushing forward and betting big on the Big Apple’s future with a dozen jumbo towers now in various stages of planning or completion. All are trying to woo the numerous large tenants that make decisions years before their current leases end. Hippo-sized companies like Blackstone, American Express and Jane Street Capital are known to be in the market, scouting for about 1 million square feet each. Read more.