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

By: Josh Friedlander

Josh Friedlander — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:05:59 +0000

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.

By: jb

jb — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:02:28 +0000

“Who named him burgermesiter of L.I.C. anyway?”

The NY Times, apparently.

If a NY Times reporter called you to interview you for a story they were doing on the ‘hood, would you answer their questions? I would.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:01:21 +0000

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

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:59:41 +0000

#7 is right about the Jake quote in that awful New York Times article. Who named him burgermesiter of L.I.C. anyway?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:38:59 +0000

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.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:29:21 +0000

Have you ever got on the train at Flushing in the morning? It’s packed already…so it’s not the train at Vernon-Jackson! That 7 train is full already…we’ll just make it worse.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:12:28 +0000

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.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:30:41 +0000

The #7 is going to be a nightmare if 29,000 more people move to LIC. As it is I often have to let a train or two pass in the morning before there’s room to get on one. And at the weekends they can be pretty busy too.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:02:25 +0000

#14 wants Palin in 2012

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:12:31 +0000

I live in one of the buildings and I use LIC services all of the time. In fact, I try to not leave LIC on the weekends, as to enjoy my neighborhood (and to put money back into it). Thankfully, we have a lot of choices here now, which makes it pretty easy. If I want to expand my venue, I go to Greenpoint, Sunnyside or Williamsburg, and I have absolutely everything. Manhattan can keep its American Apparels and Tasti-d-Lites.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:40:24 +0000

too many words Michigan-born bearded one #13.

bumble and bumble is your friend.

By: jb

jb — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:54:01 +0000

#7- the last thing LIQCity needs is a flood of Times readers internet pioneering over here in this gritty corner of the city’s interweb. Why share our dirty little whirlwind of hate with the rest of the city? More readers would only mean more yuppies moving into more hermetically sealed boxes, right #8? :wink:

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:38:40 +0000

i think #8′s point was well stated.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:20:44 +0000

#8 has spent way too much time studying urban life and not enough living it.

Way to use the graduate degree #8!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:10:07 +0000

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.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:25:04 +0000

relax #8, I live in that building and I frequent all the local bars and restaurants in the area on a weekly basis. Yeah its nice to have all these ‘amenities’ but the only thing that is even useful is the gym since the movie room and game room close at 10PM, its not like we can even use these amenities to hang out with our friends on a Friday night. When my friends come to town I take them to LIC Bar, Manducati’s and SHI…

Not once have I considered even going to one of these rare classes this article talks about (no one even knows when they are anyway) and I am sure that 90% of the building agrees with me..

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:29:00 +0000

#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.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:03:07 +0000

#3 Agreed. Pretty sad that ‘ol Jake is shamelessly pushing his website. Too bad noone goes there. It would have been more appropriate to link in Liqcity.com

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:54:48 +0000

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?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:16:43 +0000

The NY Times article managed an incredible feat. It managed to use “gritty” and “urban pioneers” — the two most overused, tiresome terms used by the mainstream press to describe LIC — in ONE sentence. Well done!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:06:55 +0000

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

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:43:58 +0000

That NY Times article is vomit-inducing.

By: liQcity

liQcity — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:37:43 +0000

Fair enough #1.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:34:28 +0000

liqcity, as you know, LIC doesn’t end at Court Square, and so people who ride the G train past that stop (to Queens Plaza and 36th Street stations, for example) will most certainly be “scathed” by the truncated service on that line.