> It's equally likely that people left because it's not worth it to commute to Manhattan everyday from those boroughs when the rent is so fucking high and the housing stock is so low.

I think its more like tons of office workers no longer have to commute to Manhattan every day so why bother living in expensive NYC when you can work from home in a quiet suburb with good schools and easy parking and cheaper houses. Then there's less need for stores and restaurants in Manhattan so the people in the outerboroughs who did work those jobs in Manhattan don't need to be here anymore either.

Yeah that kind of upzone just isn't worth tearing down a house and building another small house for. Just remove the height limit entirely. If I could tear down my 2-family and replace it with a 12 story apartment building I would. The current owner doesn't even have to move, they could just keep a 2-story unit for themselves and rent the other 10 floors out.

Could be Uber drivers if they are TLC plates (does the plate start with the letter T)?

> They are the single least efficient transit agency in the entire world

Don't forget about the corruption. Transparency is also bad for corruption.

Yeah I know the theory I’m talking about real life here. The feds tax us more and control the vast majority of the things that affect us everyday.

The fact that interstate commerce clause allows the feds to control commerce that never leaves a states boundaries is all you need to know for who is really in control.

Some powers are reserved for the states but the supremacy clause makes clear that the federal constitution and federal laws take precedence over state laws and constitutions.

If we can use the interstate commerce clause to regulate commerce that stays completely within one state as SCOTUS says we can, then in reality the rest of it all bullshit.

I think none of you know what the word "sovereign" means. It means there is no higher power. States do have a higher power, its literally what the federal government is.

> Only boomers with fat pensions are government employees

Uhhh... we're talking about municipal retirees here....

Seriously every time I have to go to a meeting in one of the penn plaza buildings its so depressing.

It’s more like “fewer people will see the rats and file 311 complaints so we’ll be able to show numerically that we’re making a difference!”

Who uses workstations anymore? Just bring your laptop in.

Also Fraunces Tavern which is great.

Signing a 30 year lease for office space just seems so stupid at face value anyway even before the pandemic.

It’s not a “road” is a massive arterial highway that is falling down. They should have ready to go plans on the shelf like Moses did so when an opportunity arises they can jump on it quickly. Construction work was one of the necessary jobs like grocery stores and first responders IIRC and it was outdoors so it was pretty safe.

Hey lets bring in some labor from Edmonton then and let them insure it and waive all the permitting fees.

Since when has "failing to renew a permit to operate a business" been classified as an eminent domain case? Are there other examples of this in NY case law?

Or the Brooklyn Boondoggle

Because they were idiots and didn't take the time during March and April of 2020 when almost nobody was driving to just close the BQE entirely and bang it out 24x7 nonstop like a Vegas casino project.

Oh yeah I remember reading this when it was posted. Haha thanks for the sad reminder of the current state of NY education. I don’t know that there was ever really a golden era of NYC schools where they were generally as good (and producing as good results) as the suburbs though.

People in my parents and grandparents generation just dropped out a lot more instead.

I thought they had to get a 65 out of 100?

> I have always advocate for reform for public schools to return to its once glory.

What were the glory days of NYC public schools and what about them was glorious?

Because even kids with shitty parents have a right to education.

The bigger problem is that they don't deal with children who have special needs and they siphon away funds from schools that do serve children with special needs. But I totally get that each parent wants their kid to go to the best school they can get.

Are you trying to argue with the notion that between periods of lower crime and higher crime there was a period where crime was increasing?

I agree its not the 1970s or 1980s. Nobody serious is saying it is. But you know when it also wasn't? The 1950s and the 1960s when the city went on the slow decline into lawlessness and crime, which is what this feels like.