masshole4life t1_j53k5gm wrote on January 20, 2023 at 3:35 AM

no one is addressing the elephant in the room, which is that new triple/quad deckers would solve this problem but they are illegal because of some old bigoted anti-immigrant law that was put into place over 100 years ago.

imagine new 3 deckers with modern plumbing and electric tech with thicker floors for soundproofing and off-property parking and provisions for moving heavy items to upper floors.

they are a win for the developer who can sell them after renting them out a few years, they are a win for people who need affordable apartments, and they are a win for the new owners as they provide upward mobility by living onsite and renting the other floors.

there's no reason to be against them unless you envision the outdated model. a small neighborhood of new 3 deckers would provide a lot of what is lacking in this city.

time to do away with laws that were only enacted to be hostile to immigrants and start providing affordable apartments and promoting home ownership.

JavierLoustaunau t1_j55lzec wrote on January 20, 2023 at 3:47 PM

>imagine new 3 deckers with modern plumbing and electric tech with thicker floors for soundproofing and off-property parking and provisions for moving heavy items to upper floors.

I lived in one and the landlords where terrible but otherwise... it was nice, all 3 floors got along, rent was 'cheap' until it was suddenly $2100 and all 3 floors left.

br4dless t1_j58y23a wrote on January 21, 2023 at 6:09 AM

I’m a little confused about what’s illegal… building new triple deckers?

masshole4life t1_j597sz9 wrote on January 21, 2023 at 8:11 AM

correct

br4dless t1_j5b84r6 wrote on January 21, 2023 at 7:05 PM

And what is the law that prevents them from being built? I’ve never heard this before and lived in the city for about 30 years

masshole4life t1_j5bagcw wrote on January 21, 2023 at 7:21 PM

the wording is something to the effect of banning "any wooden tenement in which cooking will be done above the second floor".

for more info look up Prescot Farnsworth Hall and his "immigration restriction league". the short version is that 3 deckers represented upward mobility for "undesirables", though the record is made to appear that it was due to fire hazards and "ugliness".