MTA subway cuts leave LIC slightly scathed; Condo-dwellers do the Salsa.

The NYT article is about the rentals and not so much the condos as they do not have such extensive amenities.

court sq 7 station is getting a huge makeover to connect with the g/v/e underground. the hunter point and vernon stops just going to get worse. i think citibank contributing to that project. anyone know for sure?

#5, I WISH LIC was still gritty, and the people moving here had anything remotely like a pioneer ethos… instead of “lifestyle programmers” or whatever.

I see the inclusion of all of these amenities inside so many of the new buildings as anti-urban, and anti-community… they manage to turn city blocks into gated communities, inward-focused cul-de-sacs, or college dorms. No need to go to the laundromat or tavern or sidewalk and interact with anyone outside of your hermetically-sealed socioeconomic bubble. This is bad for cities and civic life and values.

9, I’m glad to hear that, and I suspected that the NYT article was probably full of it. More often than not, I find that that paper consistently misrepresents or is way behind the curve on much of its “lifestyles” reporting, or whatever the hell you want to call it. NYT has never really understood LIC, and it shows.

i think #8′s point was well stated.

too many words Michigan-born bearded one #13.

bumble and bumble is your friend.

#14 wants Palin in 2012

While the new rental building do have a share of twenty somethings (not all) that are too cool for school and only use LIC as a place to sleep. There are also many thirty somethings with or without youg children that take advantage of the neighborhood’s amenities.

15 is on to something. It seems to me that the “authentic” parts of NYC — the interesting and affordable ethnic restaurants, independently run businesses, neighborhoods with different socioeconomic groups — are all in Queens and Brooklyn. Manhattan neighborhoods (with some exceptions) are fast becoming home to sterile, overpriced chain stores and dull people.

I think time to move a little further down the #7 line – sunnyside or woodside??

Is it really possible that 29,o00 New Yorkers in their 20s and early 30s will be able to afford $2,600/month+ rent for studio apartments in the area (and much more monthly to buy an apartment)? I’m very worried about these economic assumptions, especially given the 7 train infrastructure (now being attacked by the MTAs wastefulness and lack of budgeting skills). The area is beautiful and my only thought is that it will be a net gainer as Manhattan’s overbuilt neighborhoods lose tenants and owners during the recession.

But housing prices have to drop. Wall Street is gone. The law firms are laying off, as well. The city doesn’t have many industries that can support a $2600 studio dweller. If a person should really only spend about 30% of his gross salary on rent, that implies monthly income of $8666 ($104,000 a year). Without finance or law and with the slowdown in marketing and advertising (hurting creative jobs), this means that prices either have to drop or more people will start cohabitating to support their rent. Talk about shotgun marriages!

Of course, in the past, rent levels of that magnitude were frequently supported in part by parents, but with home equity in the crapper, I don’t know how many support checks will be coming through. If there are any real estate agents on this board, can you tell me how low the rents could conceivably go without wiping out the investments of the investors in those buildings? I’m not an expert on real estate, so I’m curious if the rents can go much lower or if profits were predicated upon $2600/month studios.

Also, I figure someone will say it’s laughable that someone would only pay 30% of their gross salary as rent when so many people spend 50% of their NET salary on rent. Fine, but those people are going to be truly screwed in the future.