New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a new “block by block” initiative to tackle the city’s affordable housing crisis Tuesday morning.
The plan focuses on 400,000 affordable housing units, enhancing tenant protections and investing in public housing. Some 200,000 of those units will be new, rent-stabilized homes built over the next decade, as well as preserving and stabilizing an additional 200,000 homes.
It’s not a fantasy world mate. It literally exists in Vienna. It literally accounts for all the things you mentioned. You have to actually fight for it though. And if Mamdani fails because of capitalist interest; you keep fighting for it. Because it’s literally proven to be possible.
The “good things aren’t possible” perspective is really getting annoying. You’re like a spouse that was abused for years that’s telling me why you can’t leave your abuser.
They literally do. They just don’t in America.
Construction cost is not the issue we are discussing mate. We are discussing investment incentives to build affordable housing. That is the part you are failing to understand. The construction company is not the one incentivized to build luxury housing. They are building based on the choice of investors to build specific housing. Cost of labor is not the issue here mate.
You’re not even addressing the key part that is changing. The key part that is changing is that the government is choosing directly to put it’s money into building affordable housing. The government can take a “loss” on this (the same way it does with roads) because the government isn’t concerned with turning a profit on a single investment. It can operate for a public good that returns benefits and prosperity to the community.
Roads don’t have to be profitable to build. Houses don’t have to be profitable to build. Firefighters don’t have to make a profit stopping fires.
Having all those things is PROFITABLE to the society.
I was going to add that this system does work in places like Vienna but it requires complete change of of mindset around housing not only from officials but also from the public. Half of affordable housing in Vienna was built by co-ops mate. The entire model around planning and financing of housing projects and ownership has to change mate. This is not something you can do in a couple of years mate. As I said, I’m not against the idea. I hope he will make it. I’m just saying that I’ve seen big promises around affordable housing many times before and those always failed. Because changing the entire system is hard mate. And it takes time mate. Like all newly elected mayors Mamdani is very popular now but we’ll see if he can even win the next elections. Mate.
People like you spend the whole time boo-hooing the people actually doing the work to create change. Nothing you said here is anything useful. It’s not constructive criticism of any of the actual policy. You have spent the last two comments talking about stuff that is irrelevant, addressed in my initial comment, or addressed in Mamdani’s video.
Now you are essentially just saying “it’s hard”. Yes. It’s hard. It doesn’t get easier by you offering zero constructive criticism. You’re essentially just listing reasons for “why we shouldn’t even try”.
You may think you’re in favor of affordable housing. And maybe you are on principle. But you’ve spent this whole thread basically repeating excuses that politicians have fed you for decades for why good things are not possible. You need to change your mindset mate.
I never said we shouldn’t try. Where are you taking this from? I’m just saying that that the 400k housing units are not likely to happen. Because projects like this are hard. You would rather start pretending they are already built. That’s fine, start celebrating if you like. I’ll wait.
Yes. You’ll wait and in the mean time be an unhelpful doomer. Nothing you’ve said has been about the policy. You attempted to do that with your construction company point and then looked silly. So you just keep talking in a general tone. That’s what stupid people do when they want to appear smart. It’s ok to not understand something. But don’t double down when it becomes clear you don’t have any idea in which ways “it’s complicated”
When you spend your replies and time listing reasons for why something is “so complicated” and “it’s not that easy”. This is what you are doing. Whether you state it explicitly or not.
You are being a doomer towards the movement while still “supporting it in theory”. It’s a safe space where you can stay.
So if it fails you say: “see, I told you it’s complicated”
Or if its successful you say: “I supported this!”
It’s painfully obvious from your lack of substance in your replies and your lack of any specific policy position.
Well, I think you look silly getting mad about some commends on lemmy. Like my skepticism is going to derail Mamdani’s plans. Like I’m part of his administration and instead of helping him create policy I’m just complaining. Meanwhile I don’t even live in US and I don’t really care what happens in NYC. And I prefer to be realistic than blindly cheer everything Mamdani says. But you do you.
Cool. You have devolved into the “this conversation is meaningless because it’s on the Internet” defense. I’m annoying. I’m gonna combat this bull shit doomerism if I have 1000 people listening or 1. You’re the one that keeps replying.
You got here because instead of talking about any of the actual material policy objectives, or legitimate criticism, you just blabbered vague doomerism around a good policy being implemented.
When you get called out for it, and it’s made clear you don’t even know the first thing about what you’re critizing, of course you fall into the “I don’t care” shit reply. Stop replying if you don’t care.
If you care enough to reply then actually criticize the policy on its actual implementations.
Hard to criticize a policy that’s not even there. So far we know they want to build 200k units. How? Where? We know it’s “over the next decade” but mayor’s term is 4 years so it’s already assuming Mamdani will win govern at least 3 terms. A policy would be for example saying how they will make building housing more affordable to co-ops than it is for investment founds. And I’m replying because you’re combative stance is amusing. You expect me to draft valid policy for Mamdani while coming up with 0 valid arguments yourself. You just said that building housing units it easy and that I should be happy they will do it. You’re trying to talk like you’re some expert but you just sound like delusional fan. “Don’t you dare doubt Mamdani! I will fight you!”.
Just because you don’t know the answer to these questions doesn’t mean there aren’t answers. You’re literally asking questions that are answered in the original article. Can you stop embarrassing yourself?
Seriously. Do this. Write down your questions above on paper. Then, read the article and see how many questions you can answer from READING. If you do that and show me your homework I’ll fill in anything you missed or wasn’t answered. But you really need to show me some effort first. You’re acting like a child that can’t write a book report.
Also, policy plans don’t suddenly explode and end when a Mayor leaves office. The city makes contracts and agreements that is has to uphold.
This isn’t even about Mamdani at this point. This is me being amazed at how much effort you put into literally not understanding something.