1 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:08,640 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 2 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,040 Speaker 2: You know that little social media memes like you walk 3 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 2: outside New York City just to breeze, you spent seven 4 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 2: hundred bucks. 5 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,759 Speaker 3: Shanee Benjamin grew up in Knarsi, Brooklyn. She left the 6 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 3: city as a teenager, but came back in twenty thirteen 7 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 3: to start a career as a professional illustrator and art director. 8 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 2: I moved to Crown Heights technically like the border of 9 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 2: Crown Heights a week ago, and I was lucky. I 10 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 2: got a run stabilized apartment for eleven ninety five. 11 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 3: But several years and apartments later, her life in New 12 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 3: York is getting harder to sustain. 13 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 2: I have vivid memories of being on Craigslist circut twenty 14 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:44,880 Speaker 2: thirteen and looking at a one bedroom for five hundred 15 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:49,959 Speaker 2: bucks off at Eltdop in Williamsburg. Now knowing that that's 16 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 2: an apartment that I saw, and now sitting pretty for 17 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 2: like maybe close a five k is just rediculous. 18 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 3: Shane still lives in Crown Heights, two bedroom with a 19 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 3: backyard that she upgraded to in twenty twenty one. She 20 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 3: pays thirty two hundred dollars a month and her landlord 21 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,680 Speaker 3: just told her she's raising the price to fifty five 22 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 3: hundred dollars a month. Rather than swallow the rent increase, 23 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:18,679 Speaker 3: Shanee decided it was time to find another spot, preferably 24 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,400 Speaker 3: one in park Slope with some extra space. 25 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 2: I have key puts, so having a backyard is great, 26 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 2: you know. 27 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 3: But this time around, her apartment search has been rougher 28 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 3: than she expected. 29 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 2: I make decent money as an illustrator. I'm making around 30 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 2: one fifty a year, and I am shoggling with find 31 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 2: a two legroom with an outdoor spee that isn't like 32 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:41,959 Speaker 2: forty five hundred five thousand by. 33 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 3: A lot of standards. Shanee makes a competitive salary, but 34 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 3: her story highlights a new reality in New York City 35 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 3: in the wake of unprecedented rent hikes. The rent is 36 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 3: too damn high, even for high earning New Yorkers. 37 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 4: Since the pandemic, the city has changed quite a bit, 38 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 4: and in time we've seen rents rise as high as 39 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 4: sixty percent in some neighborhoods. 40 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 3: Paulina Cacero is a real estate reporter for Bloomberg. 41 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 4: According to the most recent New York housing vacancy survey, 42 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 4: they found about sixty five thousand households those earning between 43 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 4: one hundred k and three hundred k paying a third 44 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,080 Speaker 4: or more of their gross income towards rent. That's tens 45 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 4: of thousands more than just four years ago. The golden 46 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:29,919 Speaker 4: rule of thumb is that you shouldn't spend any more 47 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:32,919 Speaker 4: than a third of your income on rent. So it's 48 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 4: really changing the way that people think about New York City, 49 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 4: what kind of life they can afford, and for some people, 50 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 4: the long term sustainability of living here. 51 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 3: I'm Sarah Holder, and this is the big take from 52 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 3: Bloomberg News Today. On the show, If six figure earners 53 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 3: in New York can't make it there, who can? How 54 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 3: a squeezed rental market is fueling the affordability crisis in 55 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 3: America's largest city, and how some are proposing to fix it. 56 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 3: It's no surprise that renting in New York right now 57 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 3: is expensive, but Bloomberg real estate reporter Paulina Cacero says 58 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 3: there's something new about who is starting to feel the 59 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 3: burden of high rents New York's growing upper middle class. 60 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 4: This is a group of people that you might expect 61 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 4: to have some kind of financial security, but they're really 62 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 4: being impacted by the rent squeeze. 63 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 3: Now, I think some people might hear that higher earners 64 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 3: in the city, people making between one hundred thousand and 65 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 3: three hundred thousand dollars a year, feel like they can't 66 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,760 Speaker 3: afford rent and kind of scoff at it a little bit. 67 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 3: It's like, okay, but you're making a lot of money, 68 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 3: Like it's okay, But what is the takeaway here? If 69 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 3: it's harder for someone making six figures to find a 70 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 3: spot without paying more than thirty percent of their income 71 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 3: on rent, what does that mean for everyone else. 72 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 4: Part of what's been driving up rents in the city 73 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 4: and what economists have been observing since the pandemic is this. 74 00:03:58,680 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 5: Idea of the great reshuffle. 75 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 4: Right, So, during the pandemic, COVID nineteen lockdown shuttered offices. 76 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:06,119 Speaker 5: People who had. 77 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 4: The means, More often than not, white collar workers were 78 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 4: able to leave the city, and that provided a rare 79 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:16,359 Speaker 4: opportunity for some people to get COVID deals. They moved 80 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 4: into neighborhoods that weren't really affordable to them, like West 81 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 4: Village or Tribeca. But as the city kind of returned 82 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 4: to normal. See, these higher earners, they came back, and 83 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 4: actually they came back in a big way, and that 84 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 4: trickles down, right, So that's raised the prices of rents 85 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 4: for everyone. Not to mention, a lot of landlords were 86 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 4: having to make concessions to get apartments leased. They saw 87 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 4: all of this demand as people were flooding back to 88 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 4: the city as an opportunity to recoup some of those 89 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 4: COVID nineteen losses, and that's when you saw these immense 90 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:54,680 Speaker 4: rent hikes in twenty twenty two. 91 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 3: Under other circumstances, these higher earning residents might have come 92 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,559 Speaker 3: back to the city and looking to purchase a home, 93 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,839 Speaker 3: not rent one. But that's gotten harder too. 94 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 4: People that might have already transitioned out of the rental 95 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 4: market are still in the rental market, and they have 96 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 4: more means to pay higher rents as well. 97 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 5: There's just more people renting. 98 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:17,720 Speaker 4: It's about like two thirds of New York City's population 99 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 4: is renting, and that's kept pressure on the rental market 100 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 4: as well. 101 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 3: Right, it's more competition, especially from these higher earners. 102 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 5: Yeah. 103 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:26,720 Speaker 3: I think I read somewhere that the amount of millionaires 104 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 3: in general in the country who are renting is higher. 105 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,279 Speaker 4: Yeah, the number of millionaire renters in New York City, 106 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 4: I think has doubled since twenty nineteen. 107 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 3: That kind of says it all. Yeah, the number of 108 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 3: New York City millionaires, renter or otherwise has reached record 109 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 3: highs in recent years. Some estimates suggest that as of 110 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 3: twenty twenty three, one out of every twenty four New 111 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:50,599 Speaker 3: York City residents is worth seven figures or more. But 112 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 3: as wealthy New Yorkers become even wealthier, lower income residents 113 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 3: are being pushed farther into the outer boroughs or beyond, 114 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 3: especially families kids who are more than twice as likely 115 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 3: to move out of the city than households without. 116 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 4: Those people that are leaving the city are primarily from 117 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,480 Speaker 4: the city's working class people making less than sixty thousand 118 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 4: dollars a year, because the cost of living in New 119 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 4: York has just become untenable for them. 120 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 3: So you're describing a really interesting dynamic, Like the amount 121 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 3: of higher earners in the city is increasing, the amount 122 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 3: of working class folks moving out of the city is increasing. Meanwhile, 123 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:30,280 Speaker 3: rent is getting less affordable for everyone across that income spectrum. Yeah, 124 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:32,720 Speaker 3: including for renters like Shane. 125 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 2: Before once fifty k you could have savings you can travel, 126 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,359 Speaker 2: you know, you could be comfortable in New York. And 127 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 2: now I feel like we're all just penny pinsion, penny pension. 128 00:06:42,839 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 2: And so when other folks from other different cities and 129 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:48,280 Speaker 2: states listen to us complain about who would show out 130 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:49,800 Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty K, and I'm like, yeah, live 131 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:52,279 Speaker 2: in New York brouh. 132 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:55,599 Speaker 3: One of the fundamental issues driving rents higher is a 133 00:06:55,720 --> 00:07:00,279 Speaker 3: nationwide housing shortage, a shortage that's especially potent in New York. 134 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 3: Between twenty ten and twenty twenty three, New York City 135 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 3: added nearly nine hundred thousand jobs, but just under three 136 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 3: hundred thousand new homes. That means more New Yorkers are 137 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 3: vying for a limited number of units, and Paulina says 138 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 3: that economics play a big role in swaying what kinds 139 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 3: of homes are being built. 140 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:22,840 Speaker 4: The developer community in New York City points to the 141 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 4: macro economic conditions. 142 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:26,960 Speaker 5: Right, there is very little land in New York City. 143 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 4: Construction and labor costs have gone up along with inflation, 144 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 4: and they can't get the financing or the funds together 145 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 4: to build in the first place. If they're not building 146 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 4: housing that's more expensive, right, it's what they say pencils 147 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 4: out for them. 148 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 3: One example is Long Island City, a neighborhood in northwest 149 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 3: Queens that's seen a lot of development attention over the 150 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 3: last few years. From twenty twenty to twenty twenty four, 151 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 3: nearly seventy two hundred net new apartment units were added, 152 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 3: the majority of them in high rises with elevators. 153 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 4: We talked to a resident who had moved there in 154 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 4: nineteen eighty nine. She spent about four hundred dollars for 155 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 4: a two bedroom and a walk up and. 156 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 3: How times have changed. 157 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:10,119 Speaker 5: Times have changed. 158 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:12,440 Speaker 4: If you've been to Long Island City, now you get 159 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 4: off at Court Square, there's a sweet green, there's these tall, 160 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 4: luxury high rise buildings, and that's driven up the rent 161 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 4: quite a bit. 162 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 3: New developments now make up nearly a third of the 163 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 3: rental market in that part of Queen's and median rent 164 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 3: in those buildings is six hundred and twenty five dollars 165 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 3: higher a month than a typical apartment. 166 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 4: It's just an example of how these developments can continue 167 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,560 Speaker 4: to drive at prices and also attract a new type 168 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:37,120 Speaker 4: of resident. 169 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 3: Emily Eisner, the chief economist at the Fiscal Policy Institute, 170 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 3: says the city's constrained housing supply plus its growing supply 171 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 3: of high earners are exacerbating the housing crisis. From individual 172 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 3: property owners to larger management companies. Landlord's take into account 173 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 3: a variety of factors when they set rent, but Emily 174 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 3: says some end up setting them so high in part 175 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,199 Speaker 3: because there are enough New Yorkers who are willing to pay. 176 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,480 Speaker 6: The landlord can potentially charge you know, three thousand dollars 177 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,080 Speaker 6: a month, let's say for a one bedroom, and that's 178 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 6: going to push out the like, you know, family with 179 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 6: a young kid that makes I don't know, let's say 180 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 6: combined two hundred thousand dollars a year and has to 181 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:20,520 Speaker 6: pay for childcare because there is demand for the unit 182 00:09:20,559 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 6: coming from someone who has fewer overall expenses and a 183 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:24,880 Speaker 6: high enough income to. 184 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:29,319 Speaker 3: Pay Paulina How unique is New York here though? How 185 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 3: have other cities rental landscapes changed in the last few years. 186 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:34,560 Speaker 3: Have they seen a similar sort of bounce back of 187 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:35,679 Speaker 3: pandemic rents? 188 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:40,080 Speaker 4: You know, these boom towns like Austin or even like 189 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,840 Speaker 4: in Florida where people moved during the pandemic, their rent 190 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 4: price is soared in twenty twenty and twenty twenty one, 191 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:47,199 Speaker 4: but have. 192 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 5: Since started to fall. 193 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 4: And that's true like across the Midwest and the Sun 194 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 4: Belt where people moved to in San Francisco, housing costs 195 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 4: dropped and haven't recovered as much. So New York City 196 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,720 Speaker 4: is pretty unique in how rents have continued to rise 197 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 4: and actually, for like most of the months this year, 198 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 4: Manhattan run prices have continued to hit a record high 199 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 4: in the summer four seven hundred dollars a month, which 200 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 4: is pretty crazy. 201 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:18,079 Speaker 3: With housing costs this high, New Yorkers are looking for solutions. 202 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:20,880 Speaker 2: After the break. 203 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:23,600 Speaker 3: How the issue has reshaped the race for New York 204 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 3: City Mayor and the proposals on the table to make 205 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 3: rent more affordable across the board. In November, New Yorkers 206 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:42,400 Speaker 3: will head to the polls to vote in the mayoral election. 207 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 3: The race has captured national attention after the upstart Democratic 208 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 3: Socialist State Assembly member Zoron Mondani dominated the Democratic primary 209 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:55,200 Speaker 3: in June. Meeting former New York Governor Andrew Poma. 210 00:10:55,240 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: Today, eight months after launching this campaign with the vision 211 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: of a city that every New Yorker could afford, we 212 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 1: have won. 213 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:12,680 Speaker 3: Wow, and with just a month to go, until the 214 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:16,719 Speaker 3: general poles show Mom Donnie leading by around twenty points. 215 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 3: Bloomberg Real Estate reporter Paulina Cacerro says that one reason 216 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:25,320 Speaker 3: Mom Donnie's message is resonating is because housing affordability issues 217 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:28,320 Speaker 3: are at the top of voters' priority lists, and they're 218 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:30,439 Speaker 3: also central to Mom Donnie's campaign. 219 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:32,559 Speaker 5: We saw that. 220 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 4: A lot of the folks that voted for Mom Donnie 221 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 4: were like middle class and higher earners in the city 222 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 4: and people that also tended to rent. So if you 223 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 4: take a look at Greenpoint, which is this neighborhood in 224 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:49,920 Speaker 4: North Brooklyn that was once known for its industrial roots 225 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:53,840 Speaker 4: and kind of Polish immigrant community, saw a flood of 226 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 4: white colored workers in the past couple years, and rents 227 00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 4: jumped fifty percent from twenty twenty to twenty twenty four, 228 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,560 Speaker 4: and roughly seventy two percent of Democratic voters in the 229 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:08,440 Speaker 4: area voted for Mom Donnie. Other in demand neighborhoods where 230 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 4: rents have risen quite a bit also overwhelmingly voted for 231 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 4: Mom Donnie, including Soho, Brooklyn Heights, and Long Island City. 232 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 4: So you can see how this rent affordability question has swayed. 233 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 4: You know, a lot of renters and renters in affluent areas. 234 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 3: Mom Donnie's proposals include constructing two hundred thousand new affordable 235 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 3: units over the next ten years and freezing rent increases 236 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 3: on all rent stabilized apartments. Those are units that have 237 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:38,320 Speaker 3: limits on how much the rent can increase every year, 238 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:41,720 Speaker 3: which are set by the city's rent Guidelines Board. Here's 239 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 3: Mom Donnie talking about his policy proposals on her sisters 240 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 3: show odd Lots in May. 241 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:49,200 Speaker 7: In tandem, I am both a candidate who believes we 242 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:51,679 Speaker 7: need to freeze the rent for rent stabilized tenants, and 243 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:54,560 Speaker 7: one who believes that we need to end the requirement 244 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 7: to build parking lots when reconstruct housing, who believes we 245 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:00,320 Speaker 7: need to increase densitery around mass transit hubs. We need 246 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,319 Speaker 7: to up zone wealthier neighborhoods that have historically not contributed 247 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 7: to affordable housing production. 248 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:07,560 Speaker 3: Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to find a 249 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 3: rent stabilized apartment that would be affected by a potential 250 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 3: rent freeze that Mom Donnie is proposing. So what explains 251 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:16,840 Speaker 3: why these policies have resonated with such a broad coalition 252 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:18,640 Speaker 3: that includes higher earners. 253 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 4: I think most people know that the rent freeze policy 254 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 4: would only apply to the New York citi's about one 255 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:29,160 Speaker 4: million rent stabilized units, but even then, I think it's 256 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:32,120 Speaker 4: created this kind of solidarity among renters. 257 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 3: Other candidates have put forth their own housing agendas, albeit 258 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:40,760 Speaker 3: ones that have gotten less traction. Quomo says he'll prioritize 259 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 3: quote aggressive affordable housing development, while Republican candidate Kurtis Leiwa 260 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:49,839 Speaker 3: has centered the needs of small landlords. The city's current mayor, 261 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:52,719 Speaker 3: Eric Adams, has dropped out of the race, but had 262 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 3: been highlighting his role in passing a citywide zoning overhaul 263 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 3: called City of Yes, a plan that's designed to allow 264 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 3: more development in more places and supposed to unlock an 265 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 3: estimated eighty thousand units of housing over fifteen years. 266 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:08,559 Speaker 6: We see that as a really good start, but not enough. 267 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:12,080 Speaker 3: That's Emily Eisner, again, the chief economist at the Fiscal 268 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:13,160 Speaker 3: Policy Institute. 269 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:15,679 Speaker 6: The city needs something on the order of five hundred 270 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:18,080 Speaker 6: thousand more units over the next ten years, and I 271 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 6: want to be clear that that includes both market rate 272 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 6: housing and affordable housing. 273 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 3: Up Zonings and incentives that push developers to build affordable 274 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 3: units can spur some of that growth, But Emily says 275 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 3: there also need to be efforts to preserve the affordable 276 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:36,600 Speaker 3: housing that already exists. 277 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:40,200 Speaker 6: Sometimes the affordable housing sort of either leaves the affordability 278 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 6: zone and goes into market rate, or some of the 279 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 6: buildings are sort of going to disrepair. So we need 280 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 6: to see various efforts to sort of keep those housing 281 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,200 Speaker 6: units livable and also keep them affordable. 282 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 3: And Emily also pointed to policies designed to keep tenants 283 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 3: in those affordable units, policies like eviction protections that she'd 284 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 3: advocate for expand to cover more renters. As for Shaney, 285 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:07,600 Speaker 3: she's starting to feel like the grind to find housing 286 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 3: in New York that meets her needs and fits her 287 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 3: budget might not be worth it anymore. 288 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 4: She's had a lot of friends who moved to the 289 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 4: Sunbelt region North Carolina, South Carolina. As a native New Yorker, 290 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 4: it's not something that she thought she would ever have 291 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 4: to entertain. 292 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 2: My life in a city has been amazing. I've been 293 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 2: able to carry a single household for over a decade 294 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:29,040 Speaker 2: in New York City by myself. I think New York 295 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 2: has actually brought me more opportunities than I would have 296 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 2: had if I had stayed at Pittsburgh for college. The 297 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,480 Speaker 2: only difference is that I would have rather been more 298 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 2: of a homeowner now at this age. But New York 299 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:41,920 Speaker 2: is kind of like stopping you from a little bit. 300 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 4: It's just not a sustainable place. She can't have the 301 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 4: life that she wants to live, even though she, for 302 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:50,880 Speaker 4: all intents and purposes, like made it cheap. She did 303 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 4: everything that she thought she was supposed to do. 304 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 2: The city is a good grip on you, but it 305 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 2: has caused me to like look long term future, like 306 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:01,160 Speaker 2: what would life be like at other cities where I 307 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:02,440 Speaker 2: can afford a home. 308 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:11,280 Speaker 3: This is the Big Take from Bloomberg News. I'm Sarah Holder. 309 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 3: To get more from The Big Take and unlimited access 310 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 3: to all of Bloomberg dot com, subscribe today at Bloomberg 311 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 3: dot com slash podcast offer. If you liked this episode, 312 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 3: make sure to follow and review The Big Take wherever 313 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 3: you listen to podcasts. It helps people find the show. 314 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 3: Thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow.