tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928622184607631910.post909888678785879164..comments2023-10-22T01:56:21.243-07:00Comments on Where Do We Go from Here?: Affording a $400 Sidewalk Repair Dave Aldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04365271229524041881noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928622184607631910.post-39288422229473090522016-05-01T16:29:11.891-07:002016-05-01T16:29:11.891-07:00Dave, New York City is a high-cost-of-living city ...Dave, New York City is a high-cost-of-living city relative to most U.S. areas; you can compare US General Services Administration per diem rates if you choose.<br /><br />But that high cost of living is offset by high salaries as well as New Yorkers are also high-productivity workers, responsible for more economic output per capita than most U.S. areas.<br /><br />This creates a constant stream of immigration as people look for high-paying, high-productivity jobs. <br /><br />Having a rent-control scheme allows some of the high salary to accrue to the worker, instead of just the landowner. Bear in mind that electricians and carpenters and painters also get paid more in New York, so landlords do have higher costs.<br /><br />That's one macro argument for rent control. I think your insightful query focuses on whether the transaction costs of moving make it uneconomical, not on the actual source of the costs. In that respect, renting is great for economic purposes; we can leave any time without having to lift a finger to find a new tenant. <br />Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08520811734907587902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928622184607631910.post-7496188038936324952016-04-28T08:56:21.263-07:002016-04-28T08:56:21.263-07:00I've put a note on my calendar and will follow...I've put a note on my calendar and will follow up a year from now.Dave Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04365271229524041881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928622184607631910.post-37330406506753744032016-04-28T07:18:11.152-07:002016-04-28T07:18:11.152-07:00If I'm still living here, I'll be happy to...If I'm still living here, I'll be happy to give you that tour. Randylouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15395085556145687438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928622184607631910.post-86302394974754806012016-04-27T15:11:09.448-07:002016-04-27T15:11:09.448-07:00Randy, you make a good point about pre-war develop...Randy, you make a good point about pre-war developments. Although they may have been built in a form that should have been financially sustainable, it still takes government to correctly use the funds. Too bad about the parking lot.<br /><br />Thanks for the link to Walkable Jenkintown. I'd expected to be in your neighborhood this summer, but the plan has moved to the summer of 2017. Perhaps I can drop by for a tour of your sidewalks. Dave Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04365271229524041881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928622184607631910.post-41652210125577374112016-04-27T11:23:03.294-07:002016-04-27T11:23:03.294-07:00It's not just in post-war suburbia. We live in...It's not just in post-war suburbia. We live in a classic traditional suburb just outside of Philadelphia where every street is lined with a sidewalk on both sides. <br /><br />We are currently waging a campaign to bring light to this issue. Most people, including many homeowners right here in Pennsylvania have no idea that property owners must fix the sidewalks in front of their houses. What this has created is an awful patchwork of sidewalk styles and levels of quality that has also brought hardships to some of the families on the hook for this. <br /><br />You correctly point out that in a "reasonable world," this would be a government function, but in that reasonable world, that government would also not be building public parking lots primarily to benefit private businesses. This town, Jenkintown, paid $2.4 million to seize and develop a prime chunk of downtown property to build a parking lot, supposedly to help out the struggling retail businesses. We contend that $2.4 million would fix a lot of sidewalks and bring better value to the community as a whole, especially when the town's parking fund still runs a deficit. <br /><br />In a reasonable world, cities and towns would get their priorities straight and put our tax dollars where it serves residents best, not on money-losing (name your subsidized project). <br /><br />Please see our blog at www.walkablejenkintown.com to read more. Randylouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15395085556145687438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928622184607631910.post-51304532450536517972016-04-26T07:48:32.113-07:002016-04-26T07:48:32.113-07:00Anon, thanks for reading and for writing.
Yes, I ...Anon, thanks for reading and for writing.<br /><br />Yes, I agree that Petaluma and nearly every other community has clung to the suburban paradigm far longer that they should have. I point to the property tax revolt from the late 70s to the early 90s as the sign we all should have recognized, but virtually none did, that suburbia was ill-structured to pay its bills.<br /><br />Being a west coaster, I'm not as familiar with the co-op model as you. Although I'm not sure that co-op housing is truly necessary to address the municipal financial issues, I agree that downtown living, which can be a good financial strategy for our cities and towns, can have more elements of cooperative living than the single-family model.<br /><br />Now, an unrelated question for you which dawned on me as I read your comment. Studies have shown that percentage of homeownership can be inversely related to economic vitality, as people are stuck in place and can't follow economic opportunities. Might rent control have the same impact? I understand the benefit to your household, but wonder about the macro issues.<br /><br />Thanks again for the comment.Dave Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04365271229524041881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928622184607631910.post-72394752114093482612016-04-26T03:01:07.946-07:002016-04-26T03:01:07.946-07:00Sir, I am always happy to read your blog posts, al...Sir, I am always happy to read your blog posts, although I mostly do it at work, through an RSS reader, as blogspot sites are universally on the 'entertainment' list of Web Sites That Must Not Be Browsed.<br /><br />I have the Gabler article on my nightstand and am now looking forward even more to reading it, as you have piqued my interest in it and drawn the urbanism connection.<br /><br />As the head of a New York City household, I have consciously realized that our local rent stabilization program is the best deal around, if you stick in one apartment long enough. Right now I estimate that we are paying about 20% less than market rate for our two-bedroom one bath apartment in an elevator building. But the downside is not anticipating moving anytime soon. So that's our family's way of dealing with high housing prices; find a bargain and refuse to move.<br /><br />Apropos the sidewalk question, after reading your post, the question that remains in my mind is this: if 23.5% of Petaluma homeowners (an estimate, half the 47% figure) are unable to afford a sidewalk repair, what does that say about Petaluma's tax base and ability to pay for infrastructure improvements on a broader scale? By clinging to the low-density single-family home model, has Petaluma (and its counterpart communities across the U.S.) failed to develop a business plan that builds wealth and husbands resources over the long term? <br /><br />I think in the U.S. we don't have much experience with cooperatives as economic entities, but perhaps if cities moved toward a more explicit cooperative model, this long-term trend toward subsistence living on the part of the civic entity (terrible phrasing, sorry) would become more clear and residents could then take action to do something about it? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com