Condo glut blues in Long Island City; Subway ridership hits record levels
Cars getting smarter in Long Island City.
Long Island City linkage galore. Highlighted is a very long but extremely thorough analysis of NYC’s current condo glut:
“In recent years, ordinary New Yorkers saw new condo construction transform their neighborhoods. This is especially true in hotspots like Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Long Island City, where large rezonings by the Bloomberg administration have spurred the rise of sleek luxury residential towers seemingly overnight. But as New York City’s economy rapidly worsens, people wonder how many of these new condo apartments will languish vacant. Precise numbers are difficult to come by, but government leaders and housing industry experts agree: The condo market is in serious distress. It is not just the vacant units that are worrisome. In many neighborhoods, half-built projects sit stalled and land cleared for development shows no signs of activity, creating a nuisance for residents who now must live indefinitely with deserted construction sites.”
In other LIC news, subway ridership is up 19% on the 7-train especially at Vernon/Jackson, and the Dutch Kills bar, which has a website now, is still not open.
Confronting the Condo Glut [Gotham Gazette]
Subway ridership up by 19% in Long Island City [Second Ave Sagas]
More on increased subway ridership [Cityroom]
Film & TV production in NYC & Queens [Active Rain]
Cut! Less filming hurts biz [Crains]
Baraked in Long Island City? [NY Shitty]
Neighboring Greenpoint development ‘Viridian’ bankrupt & for sale [Curbed]
Dutch Kills bar not open yet [Metromix]
Seeing the light in LIC [AMNY]
An experience at PS1 this weekend [MisPersonality]
More on the Mets PepsiCola sign resembling LIC’s [Transplanted Mets Fan]
PS1’s 2009 summer courtyard installation [Modern-Arki]
I can’t wait to see how the brokers and developers spin this one.
Note to developers- spend less on those high-end finishes, and lower your per square foot price NOW before it gets really bad.
As for turning some of the vacant condos into subsidized middle income housing, I’d rather see the buildings get foreclosed than to see these developers get bailed out by the City Council…
great links!
There is no condo glut in LIC. People are still buying condos. Don’t be fooled by this tomfoolery.
yes, Queens IS the hot borough right now.
I assume #’s 4 & 5 are joking.
There’s a finite number of people with $100k sitting in the bank right now waiting to buy a pad overlooking Queens Plaza or the pj’s.
It’s definitely been fascinating watching these shiny bldgs. spring up like manna, only to serve as a grim reminder of this crisis.
I think this sums it up pretty well:
“The outer boroughs face particular challenges, according to Miller, because new development there was fueled by the high prices in Manhattan. The notion was that developers would be able to successfully market homes in Downtown Brooklyn or Williamsburg to buyers who wanted a luxury residence but who couldn’t afford Manhattan prices. Now, declining prices in Manhattan have undercut that. Many buyers simply no longer need to look to Brooklyn or Queens. ”
If I had the pocket change for a new pad, I am pretty sure I could make a killer deal in Manhattan right now.
Maybe the condos will turn into sweet squatter lofts for shows and parties.
I think the photo could be part of a new ad campaign called:
“Another successful rear entrance cooling, by your friends at Preparation H.
Charlie.
Could be, but my friends at Preparation H. told me that the idea, while a good one, had already been considered and rejected by the promotion dept, who incidentally held their informal meeting at the new place on Center Blvd with the funny name.
Oh darn, and I thought I had inside information (pardon the pun).
Charlie.
#2, “…spend less on those high-end finishes..” Are you kidding or do you kids really have no idea what quality can be? Ask any folks who finally settle into the buildings that have opened in the last few months if the damp sheet rock, the rusty pipes poking through the wall, and the peeling surfaces are quality finishes.
well, if you guys would know what type of subcontractors and for what money end up being hired by the construction companies to “finish” these jobs, you would not be surprised at what gets delivered in the end.
I am not talking about ones that were on board before the poop hit the fan, but rather ones that they are now forced to get because of the developers pinching pennies to finish up.
LIC seems to be the first community to go bust before it fully went boom. But at least we’ll have a Dunkin’ Donuts.
Since when has any boomtown ever had lasting value? This is quick-buck land.
@14 That’s because they did not know when to stop developing. Just pulling up building after random building with no end in sight. It’s a landscape of what is really wrong with it all.
I wish this town all the best as I love it here, but things have to be reevaluated.
I think LIC will stand as a monument to false promise of the housing bubble… will make for some interesting art eventually
This thread sure was a good read of a lot of dumb commentary from people who like to talk about things they don’t know or understand.
#16- try moving to suburban America. If you think LIC is depressing…
I’m bidding $400 a square foot for new construction. Any sellers?
13, the contractors have sucked for a long time. I could pass out from the pot smoking lunch breaks from the crews working on the waterfront. Several of the buildings inland have day workers with no supervision – not even hard hats. I’ve seen steel beams crudely damaged with hand tools when the shop cuts didn’t fit. I could go on but 18 thinks that no one here no what they are talking about.
#16 has it right on the money. Unfortunately there are still some heavy breathing drunken brokers milling about.
Funny about the pot smoking lunch breaks. One of my buds is a Electrical Supervisors on a major waterfront project that shall remain nameless and he has quite a crew of wake’n bake crackerjacks.
20, here’s some more dumb commentary: what’s wrong in LIC is what’s wrong with this country. No one takes pride in their work anymore. We hire surly and untalented people to build crappy things and take forever to do it, wasting countless amounts of money along the way. That’s why when I hear Obama talking about a nationwide program of building and infrastructure projects, I just get depressed. This ain’t FDR’s America anymore. We’ll have hundreds of unfinished Big Digs across the land, with nothing to show for it in the end but crushing debt.
It’s not that no one takes pride in their work anymore, it’s generally that management has no budget for “prideful” work because the bankers have to extract the biggest margins they can.
And even in daily work, management takes that pride and completely destroys/neuters it into something unrecognizable. Work is generally soul-crushing in America, and few people are their own bosses where they can truly take pride in their work and execute to the extent of their vision (and have to answer directly for the quality of their work).
Don’t tell me no one takes pride in their work anymore- there are plenty that do. But there’s a huge system that won’t let them do it, and plenty more who once cared but have been beaten down too many times to bother sticking up for their craft anymore.
people that really like what they do still take pride in their work and are paid accordingly. but some people go into construction simply because of the promise of large paychecks and because work was plentiful. those times are changing.
the real pros will still be in demand.
I’ll take your word for it that builders are as skilled and full of pride as they used to be. (Remember, I am only offering completely uninformed commentary.) But consider this. Imagine the Chrysler Building was going to be constructed today. Do you really think we could find skilled people who could construct that gorgeous building to the high standard it is and as quickly as it was 70-odd years ago? I just don’t think it would ever happen.
The real problem is the cost of labor costs and benefits, as demanded by labor unions. Why take pride in your work when you can’t be fired? Or if you get 2 minutes of break for ever 1 minute that you work? The whole system is et up for inactivity and inefficiency. they longer it takes the more we can bill. Unfortunately I agree with #22. This so call stimulus plan will be pissed away on ill conccieved projects that will go over budget and require 2x as much money to complete.
Organized Labor, with the aid of labor unions, helped build America. For the last upwards of thirty (30) years, labor unions have shattered our US manufacturing base; demanding more income and benefits for the worker(s). It is relevant to each of us to seek more income and benefits for our work on the job. So often, we all want to think we are underpaid. We must reevaluate ourselves and our US economy, thinking of others as well. My point is that the unions has made so many demands on industry for their own membership; millions of jobs have left America for other countries around the world. Consumers have realized the world market may provide more quality products at lower prices than some manufactured by Americans employed by labor union employees. A better American manufacturing base provides a stronger US economy for our workers.
Sometimes, I wonder if any and/or all activist labor union workers can or will look into the eyes of their own children, their grandchildren, their friends, and others to tell them that they, themselves, may have been the failing manufacturing problem of so many jobs losing America; demanding more salary increases and/or benefits.
Wall street has been taking home million dollar bonuses for the past decade, and LABOR UNIONS are overpaid by guaranteeing their workers a living wage (which in many places ain’t all that spectacular)?
This is fantasy land.
The only reason manufacturing is cheaper in other countries is because their economies are less developed and companies can exploit that imbalance and looser labor laws in developing countries. But make no mistake, it’s EXPLOITATION.
The Unions haven’t failed America, the companies that push for exploitative cheap overseas labor have failed the world and gotten us addicted to cheap and unsustainable consumer goods.
So its a good thing that the auto industry is not competive and on the brink of bankrupcy because they have to pay people *not* to work? What bizzaro world does that make sense in? There was an article in the post the other day about a NYC librarian who has a $200K annual retirement NYS plan and a Park Avenue address. I guess that’s also cool. There is such hypocrisy onthis issue. Everyone looks the other way at wasteful spending as long as their pockets are being lined., but let the next guy get some money and everyone is up in arms.
Hey folks, it’s not that complicated. The market got over-hyped and overheated and we as a society just wondered where’s ours. We have paid almost zero attention to the basics of being a self sustaining society and economy. We have put our technology to use on trivial things in the hope that suckers will continue to buy. The check has finally arrived at our table.
The question is how do we move forward now that we know the previous path has flaws.
I frankly don’t think the old debates are worth it. We need a fresh approach that honors multiple views so that a productive dialogue emerges. We must embrace all available possibilities. Folks here just seem to want to bash each other’s brains in.
single speed bikes and thrift shop clothing for everyone
#30: that would cut down on the obscene amount of pollution that we produce and turn our throw-away culture in the right direction.
good idea.
Another problem with the unions is the ridiculous work rules. In construction, auto, teaching, etc., unproductive work rules raise costs and lower productivity.
Cheap steel singlespeed bikes made in China… great solution.
32, so now you’re on a roll, let’s pile on teachers too. Poorly paid slaves who work like dogs every day in a low-status occupation — they are the cause of all our woes. Get lost, will you?
No sellers at $400 a square foot? Too bad. Deflation has dropped my bid to $375 a square foot.
Sell soon. Looks like we could be in for a 50% decline in NYC real estate value before this is over, and $325 is a definite possibility for LIC…
No one should be paid for doing nothing – Especially if the taxpayer is footing the bill. This applies for bankers , teachers, construction workers, fast food employees, etc.
Anonymous, Anonymous, Anonymous.
How that goes on forever.
Okay, fine.
You may have something to defend, but you don’t have to defend anything.
Everybody thinks (knows) they’re right.
So what now
Not piling on teachers, I’m criticizing unions, including teachers’ unions, for selfish unproductive work rules. Every teacher I know does not like their union leadership.
34- you must be an unproductive union worker being carried and protected by the work rules.
38, The only selfish and unproductive workers being carried and protected right now are Wall Street executives. Get your facts straight.
Hmm, jealous of higher income Wall Street workers I see . . .
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Any idea when Dutch Kills opens? want to have a drink with people who are not living in the vacant condos and celebrate that we are getting thru this recession one $15 drink at a time. Bring back bottle service and dancing on banquets back.