KaiDaiz t1_iu4ch61 wrote on October 28, 2022 at 1:39 PM

Reply to comment by CookieSheaButter in NYC chief housing officer: The era of YIMBY is here by ToffeeFever

Basement apts will always be suboptimal housing no matter how nice you make it and has inherit risks. so if we putting so much effort to make it legal and high cost...why not apply that effort to adding another floor which offers better value to owner and renter qol of such a unit.

There's a reason why so few ppl sign up for the pilot program - they don't want to make the basement legal, have to report the income and host of other rules they have to follow for some rent when they can collect it anyway and not report it if illegal.

CookieSheaButter t1_iu4cr2b wrote on October 28, 2022 at 1:41 PM

Not all basement apartments are the same. For every dangerous or suboptimal one there are plenty perfectly good ones.

You’re going to add another floor to your single or multiple family home?

KaiDaiz t1_iu4cwy6 wrote on October 28, 2022 at 1:42 PM

Adding another floor is a lot easier vs making a basement legal, better housing, better qol for renter and more feasible.

Ask the owner and renter...which they prefer another legalized floor unit or basement unit. they will pick the first one

CookieSheaButter t1_iu51od5 wrote on October 28, 2022 at 4:32 PM

That’s not how any of this works. You can’t just build another floor. There’s zoning laws that are designed to cause a housing crisis.

KaiDaiz t1_iu556hv wrote on October 28, 2022 at 4:55 PM

You mean the same zoning laws that don't allow the basement to be legally habitable? if you going to +1 unit to building and change the CO..it might as well be +1 additional floor vs the basement.

ctindel t1_iueyd0k wrote on October 30, 2022 at 8:32 PM

If I had a choice between sleeping in the street or sleeping in a basement apartment I’d sleep in the basement.