Construction spending in New York City will reach an all-time high of $86 billion this year, up $38 billion from 2021, according to a new report from the New York Building Congress.
The report finds that despite numerous obstacles from the pandemic and economic uncertainty, construction spending and infrastructure investment in New York City remain positive.
— Construction Dive
The influx of capital, unfortunately, has not impacted the city’s most critical area of need as it was recently reported to have fallen short of its planned goals to construct 25,000 units of affordable housing by 36%. The New York Building Congress says the shortfall will only get worse as a result of the absence of the 421a tax incentive program. Without it, the 560,000 units needed before 2030 seem unlikely. Current projections only have 90,000 units coming into the market in the next three years.
“The city’s population has increased by more than 625,000 in the previous decade, while we have added only 206,000 units,” the group's CEO Carlo Scissura explains in the report. “That is not only unsustainable, it’s alarming — and justifies a swift and decisive response.”
1 Comment
Housing is there, in New York city proper, if you can afford it. All the so-called tax abatement programs and zoning incentives/requirements are meaningless if a developer cannot maximize profit from a venture. Most housing, serving lower economic groups, were/are slums before the mortar set(s). What used to be a building's useable life expectancy of 50 years, is now 25, or the life of the mortgage. We no longer have 2 to 3 generations in a building or neighborhood. We "optimize" energy to maximize income in relation to cost of operation. We tout "resilience" and "sustainable" as aspect of reduced maintenance. Concern for the environment has nothing to do with initial investment nor long term costs. Deferred maintenance is the unwritten chapter in the Housing Maintenance Code. Facade inspections (over 6 stories) have only fostered the proliferation of sidewalk sheds. Yet, a brick falling from three stories (30+ feet) will kill just as dead as one falling from 60 feet. Without government subsidies (either state or federal) viable residential structures cannot be built at rents (or buy-ins) that people can afford.
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