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Vital City

@vitalcitynyc.bsky.social

1.4K followers 980 following 240 posts

Enlightening data. New ideas. Civil conversation. Visit us at vitalcitynyc.org

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Reposted by Vital City

Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 23h

So much tear gas that people who aren't even protesting are getting sick when they leave their homes to run errands: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

ICE is hounding Chicago area locals with excessive chemical munitions

Agents are firing tear gas and pepper balls on lawful protesters, lawsuits say, sickening even uninvolved residents.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Vital City

Juan Manuel Benítez @juanmabenitez.bsky.social · 3d

My former NY1 colleague @errollouis.bsky.social interviewing GOP candidate for NYC mayor Curtis Sliwa at @columbiauniversity.bsky.social. @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social @columbiajournalism.bsky.social

Reposted by Vital City

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 11d

Slow Boring forecast that Eric Adams might accomplish good things or housing or might devolve into an orgy of corruption.

Turns out it was both.

www.slowboring.com/p/the-path-f...

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 20d

This one is definitely worth your time.

Henry Grabar @henrygrabar.bsky.social · 20d

I have a piece in the latest issue of @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social about New York City's very special building codes (evacuation maps! mass timber! drop ceilings! pipes!), and some issues for code reform more broadly www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

Vital City | The High Price of Fine Print

Overly complex building codes are a big reason why housing construction costs so much.

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Reposted by Vital City

Henry Grabar @henrygrabar.bsky.social · 20d

I have a piece in the latest issue of @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social about New York City's very special building codes (evacuation maps! mass timber! drop ceilings! pipes!), and some issues for code reform more broadly www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

Vital City | The High Price of Fine Print

Overly complex building codes are a big reason why housing construction costs so much.

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Reposted by Vital City

Citizens Housing and Planning Council @chpcny.bsky.social · 20d

A new op-ed from CHPC’s @hslatkin.bsky.social in @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social illuminates how misunderstanding of rent-stabilized apartment data is contributing to a mounting financial crisis in the housing New York City's low-income residents rely on.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

Vital City | The Rent Is Too Damn High (But Also Too Low)

Three strategies for addressing both the needs of renters and the financial challenges of maintaining their buildings

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

And there's more. Find the whole table of contents here:

vitalcitynyc.org/issues/issue...

Vital City | Issue 14

How New York City can produce and preserve many more homes

vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

What should the next administration prioritize? Jamie Rubin lays out a housing agenda that could actually move the needle.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/a-h...

Vital City | A Housing Agenda for the Next Mayor

Five ways the next administration can help provide an affordable place to live for every New Yorker

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

The universal New York City rite of passage? Your first adult apartment. Megan McArdle, Dan Smith, Ayo Balogun, @majoracarter.bsky.social, @teacherarthurg.bsky.social and Suketu Mehta share their stories.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/my-...

Vital City | My First Adult Apartment

Finding a place of your own in New York is notoriously challenging — but also rewarding. We asked some New Yorkers to reflect on their first apartments in the city.

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

Do we have to settle for singles rather than aiming to produce thousands of units at a time? Rev. David Brawley and Rob English of Metro IAF say we should swing for the fences.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/bui...

Vital City | Build Big Without Delay

New York City has ample locations to produce thousands of units at a time. We need an aggressive strategy to turn parking lots and underutilized spaces into housing.

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

The development process is loooooong and winding. Former Councilwoman @carlinarivera.bsky.social provides an insider's perspective on how Essex Crossing actually happened.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/cro...

Vital City | Crossing Delancey: One Project’s Story

A legislator’s-eye view of reflecting community input and building ambitious affordable housing

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

New York City has some excellent housing types, but we can also draw inspiration from around the world. Claire Weisz and Jacob Dugopolski of WXY Studio sketch some underexplored ways to house people here.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

Vital City | The Form Density Takes

Revisiting mid-rise housing for a walkable city

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

To address real and imagined displacement fears, what about "gentlefication"? David Kemper discusses how we can help ensure that existing residents benefit from neighborhood improvements.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/cal...

Vital City | Call it Gentlefication

How a new tool can help existing neighborhoods welcome housing construction

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

"Perspiration without inspiration is just sweat." Architect @vishaan.bsky.social asks a big question: How do we inspire people to actually want more housing?

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

Vital City | The Quality of Quantity

Bloodless counts of the numbers of units created miss something essential.

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

"The wait is the biggest driver of cost in affordable housing — not the requirements. It's the years lost to bureaucracy." Former deputy mayor Alicia Glen gets candid.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/pre...

Vital City | Predictability Begets Productivity: A Conversation with Alicia Glen

Lessons from former Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen about building housing

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

Can we build more housing in factories, faster and at a lower cost? @caraeckholm.bsky.social discusses how an urban experiment could be brought to scale.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/bui...

Vital City | Building Better, Piece by Piece

Can government demand help revive the U.S.'s flailing modular construction industry?

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

A seemingly obscure idea called "floating zoning" could produce housing much more quickly on the ground. @kaley explains this innovative development approach.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

Vital City | The Promise of Floating Zoning

An idea to boost New York City’s efforts to house more people in more places

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

[email protected] explains what California's housing experiments mean for New York City and State.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/cal...

Vital City | California Dreaming

New York should follow the Golden State’s lead when it comes to housing legislation.

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

Could tax policy unlock housing development? Former city finance commissioner Martha Stark proposes a property tax system that might actually promote apartment production.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

Vital City | The Property Tax Cannot Stand

Why reforming the complex, unfair system is imperative to produce more housing

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

Transit-oriented housing sounds great in theory. @yonahfreemark.com of the Urban Institute gets practical about building at the right scale in the right places.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/new...

Vital City | New York City Needs a Two-Track Mind

Housing and transit planning go naturally together.

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

Tokyo keeps housing affordable while New York City spirals ever upward. @joemcreynolds.bsky.social investigates what we can learn from Japan's approach.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/tea...

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

Last year, Jersey City (pop. 300K) added twice as many apartments as all of Queens (pop. 2.3M). Ben Schneider asks what New York City can learn from its overachieving neighbor.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/lea...

Vital City | Learning from Jersey City

This small city is picking up the slack for the rest of the New York metro area, but its growth spurt is not without growing pains.

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

Nothing can be built without financing. @pewilliams.bsky.social of the Center for Public Enterprise offers a primer on how it works, where the gaps are, and innovations that could make a difference.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/a-n...

Vital City | A New Construction Lender in Town

A practical agenda for financing housing abundance in New York City

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

Fine print is difficult to read but impossible to ignore. @henrygrabar.bsky.social explains how rules and regulations make it more difficult to build efficiently.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

Vital City | The High Price of Fine Print

Overly complex building codes are a big reason why housing construction costs so much.

www.vitalcitynyc.org

Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 21d

What does it actually cost to keep New York City apartments habitable? Every building is unique, but we shed light on two profit-and-loss statements.

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/wha...

Vital City | What Hangs in the Balance Sheets

Two New York City apartment buildings’ costs and revenue

www.vitalcitynyc.org