That would only work if freight trains could run on the G line instead of passenger only service.

But as long as the MTA is opposed to sharing right of way, that’s not an alternative.

Those are all services that scale by the number of people in an area (density). Not size of property.

Your proving my point. Big brain you got there.

People aren’t part of the problem, they are the problem. That’s not really debatable. It’s math. Town budgets are public and you can see what services cost how much money. All services are for people, not land outside of the fire department (which is technically split).

Ideally property tax would be based on how many people in the property rather than it’s value, since that’s how much of a tax burden that property is. Someone with an acre of woods is technically saving the town money on open space they’d otherwise purchase. Someone with a kid just cost the town thousands.

Meanwhile a dozen townhouses don’t even come close to covering their burden.

Taxing people, while unpopular is the solution to property tax. It would also effectively be a carbon tax since people = carbon.

Density doesn’t really decrease property taxes. A backyard costs nothing for a city. If anything it saves them money since less demand on parks and open space (you need so many trees per sq mile).

Density actually increases taxes since you need to upgrade some pretty expensive infrastructure to account for it. New sewers with increased capacity, water mains etc.

People are the problem. Especially the ones who have kids. People who use government resources, shit in sewers, attend schools, use roads (either driving or having packages delivered) etc.

Free condoms and birth control would lower property taxes. Free vasectomies would lower property taxes. Those are meaningful things towns and the state could enact now to make a difference. Ideally anyone who didn’t want to have kids wouldn’t pay a penny on that quest. We’d all ultimately save money.

Adult communities are also a good way to lower property taxes, they pay property tax, but the shriveled up genitals don’t put kids in schools.

It’s almost as if consultants might be financially encouraged to find places to spend money, and turn their backs on potential overruns since their not subject to the scrutiny a public employee is.

Healthcare too.

They complain about waste and want everything private, then private companies make billions effectively just sitting in between payments.

Government could do what health insurance does for a fraction of the price given it just needs to break even not appease shareholders.

But good luck convincing “small government” bull shit artists that shareholder profit is part of the waste problem.

Could just pay them more per delivery.

This is just socializing the cost of delivery so the company can make slightly more profit.

Let’s not pretend it’s anything else.

I needed blinds and bought on Home Depot maybe 3 years ago. A dozen times they sent them by UPS or FedEx, each time damaged. Long skinny cardboard box. No chance in hell they’d make it undamaged.

Complete wtf. I eventually gave up and bought elsewhere. Must have cost them quite a bit in shipping and damaged merch.

I saw over $2k, and as little as $1k calling a few. Yours seems pretty in line with what I’d say is average. I think I spent around the same.

It really depends on the transaction. Foreclosures, title issues, legal issues the HOA is encountering, even some easements may mean you’ll need a lawyer to really dig into what you’re getting involved in. There’s a premium for that.

For a typical closing? 1500ish seems about right.

Regardless, you’re talking a fraction of a percent of the purchase price. No need to cheap out or bargain shop. IMHO just pick the lawyer who spends a few minutes asking some good questions about your purchase and sounds like they’ve got something to offer. They’re literally the only person who’s acting on your behalf in the transaction. And you’ll deal with them a bit. So someone you feel has your interests in mind, and feel comfortable working with is worth an extra couple dollars.

This is done all the time. You just use the walls so you don’t violate the floor plate.

Wall mounted toilets are common in retrofits. They’re so common most Home Depot’s have them in stock. It’s not even a special order kinda thing. I can walk out with one in an hour.

City sewers used to handle substantially more from industrial uses years ago.

Residential puts a fraction of the stress on water/sewer.

You can go for longer units. You can also do what has been done in other parts of the world and have commercial on the interior with its own elevators and walls separating. A doctors office or even retail on the same floor with separate elevators is totally possible.

This kind of stuff is already normal in parts of Asia. The US just has a fixation on residential being over anything else, not on the same level.

Then find the places where they cut corners. Actual documentation vs conspiracy theory crap. I know you won’t (because it doesn’t exist), but if your claims were real you would have.

That’s not how elevators work. There’s a handful of models, you collect a few bids since each vendor has 1-2 and pick your floor color. That’s really all there is to it. You have more choices in iPhones than elevators.

These aren’t custom implementations. That’s not a thing. There’s no corners to cut outside of some decorative trim pieces and flooring material. You get what’s offered. Then the city inspects and approves it once installed.

Lots of places have done conversions like this.

It’s not a difficult engineering task.

The issue is the buildings are financed/leveraged over the idea of 15-30 year leases and residential leases are 1 year. That changes the economics substantially.

The models don’t seem to agree on the outcome of this one.

Apple Weather seems to be projecting some snow overnight but given the temps being above freezing and climbing I think it will be a mix and turn to rain, negligible accumulation.

Let’s see what happens.

Not really. You’re largely making that up.

There’s not many options on what you can install. Each elevator manufacturer only offers a few outdoor public spaces elevators. Only one or two will meet the spec for that space. And ADA is specific in terms of everything needed for compliance with any elevator.

Most of the options are things like floor color, cab lighting, if you want a screen to show ads etc.

Oh and there’s like 3 or 4 companies in North America that do elevators now. All the brands are basically owned by the same folks.

They basically just rubber stamped it and took the lowest bid, which was likely only the lowest by a couple thousand dollars.

There’s no real choice in this crap beyond a few design elements that bolt into place.

And yes, new elevators are notably slower than old ones. You can thank new laws in a bunch of states and lawsuits forcing them to slow down public space elevators for accessibility purposes Door times are slower, even movement was slowed since it impacts and disorients some people with inner ear issues if it moves to fast… but those type of people OP gives 0 shits about (i actually know someone with this affliction).

It’s going to cost taxpayers a lot of money. And a future mayor will take the fall for it. Just watch.

Well taxes have gone down or held the same due to efficiency improvements in the city. It’s not impossible.

But reality is they should climb with inflation so at least 2% annually. Anything short of that is just budget manipulation and we ultimately pay up with interest in due time.

Taxes are your % of the city budget, so even if everyone’s property value declines, your percentage would stay the same. It’s only if your property declines and others stay the same or increase would you save on taxes. But as you point out, that’s more negative than positive.

The city is way behind on a lot of infrastructure even just maintaining, forget about scaling for density, so I’d fully expect some steep increases over the next 10-15 years until it catches up.

That’s not weird at all. That’s god tier stuff.

Chips aren’t hard to make, or expensive. Decent ingredients cooked correctly will be awesome. Doesn’t matter if it’s a cafeteria or fancy restaurant.

FWIW my college had amazing fresh cookies in the cafeteria. The older lady who was the lead baker was excellent. Every damn thing on that tray was always top notch. Even when all the actual meals were typical cafeteria food.

And Google then should have pointed them to Adsense if they want back.

It’s only fair.

I partially agree with this.

Capping might be a better compromise from all perspectives. It gets rid of the big variable that is tunneling and replaces it with something NYC has done for a century with success (covering). It’s effectively how most of the subway was built. But the cut part of cut/cover is already done. Rebuild the roadway and cap it. Then turn that cap into a park.

That’s fine. If people drive less, the city makes up for it with increased city tax. Done deal.

Then you gotta be cool with the negatives their economy has as well… poor seniors depending on their kids (or homeless if they have none), little free income for the average person after housing and food etc etc. that’s how that depreciation is paid off. People working 60hr weeks for minimal pay, seniors depending on their kids etc.

Doesn’t come from nowhere. You pay for it one way or another.

Or do what UAE does and bring in slave labor.

But reality is humans being paid to do work will ultimately cost you money.

Again, you’re mostly complaining about a minimum wage hike and it’s effects on our economy. Let’s not pretend otherwise.

If it’s only 10%, it’s in line or below inflation for the area.

For a “luxury” building it’s certainly below inflation. Their taking in less profit than they were a year ago.

People forget minimum wage went up in NJ and doormen unionizing across the river. Those things alone mean costs are up way more than 10% for anything labor intensive. After loan repayments labor is almost certainly the 2nd biggest cost for any building operator. 30-50% not being uncommon. More if you include all services which are labor intensive (electricians, plumbers, etc.).

That’s on top of the 8% inflation avg around the US.

Then you have taxes…

10% means expect it to go up annually by 10% until it fully incorporates all the cost increases. They’re just averaging it out.

They’ve been slowly upgrading as they now host older kids in that building.

My guess would be re-grading the property for something like a basketball court.