New Yorkers like to talk about their apartments–a lot. They talk about where they are, how big they are – and often, how small they are, and most of all, how much they cost. It is because the story of New York City apartments is just so incredible.
The median Manhattan apartment goes for more than $3,000 a month. Just to give you a sense, in a desirable Manhattan neighborhood, in a well-maintained building, a 700-sq. foot one-bedroom apartment easily goes for $3,700 a month.
It has been an issue for decades, but recently the problem has gotten especially bad. Median rental rates for apartments increased 75% between 2000 and 2012. A 75% increase over a period when median real income fell almost 5%.
Manhattan. The site of aspiration, where young dreamers and hard-working immigrant families have woven a complex tapestry of diverse and distinct neighborhoods, increasingly feels like an exclusive island inhabited welcoming only the über-wealthy–which is why the city offers an incentive to developers to include some affordable housing units in their new glass condo palaces designed for the world’s one-percenters.
Which is why my letter this week is to Extell founder/president Gary Barnett.
Dear Gary,
It’s me, Melissa.
Surely you know that our nation decided more than 50 years ago that separate but equal is actually inherently unequal. But then again, you’re not going for equal. You’re just going for separate.
Given that New York City lost 400,000 affordable apartments between 2000 and 2012, perhaps there is some solace to be taken in the fact that your new 33-floor condo building is slated to include 55 affordable rental units. But I couldn’t help notice that the 219 market-rate units will be the ones with the river views, and the 55 affordable units will be on the street side. And hey, maybe that’s OK. We all know what a good view is worth.
But why the separate door?
You know, the one for the people in the affordable units so the rich people don’t even have to see those of lesser means who call the building home. Don’t even have to walk through the same doorway as them.
We really wanted to know why, so we called your office. The response? No comment.








