A look at how New York’s failed efforts to host the world’s biggest sporting event succeeded in reshaping huge swaths of the city, from Hunters Point to Citi Field. ‘New York never needed the Games, but we did need the infrastructure,’ one expert said.
More than in any campaign in recent memory, housing has become a key topic in the 2020 presidential race, reflecting a national housing crisis spanning from megacities like New York and San Francisco to smaller urban centers like Cleveland and rural areas like Randolph County, Georgia.
The Center for Economic Opportunity was the high-profile heart of an anti-poverty push that earned Mayor Bloomberg many plaudits and some flak. The initiative lives on under his successor.
The mayor unlocked a door between homeless shelters and public housing that his predecessor had closed. Some advocates want de Blasio to open it event wider.
The former Council speaker and 2005 mayoral candidate talks about what it’s like in the closing moments of a long campaign, reveals that “The Wedding Crashers” was a source of strength as the ’05 race ground on, and belts out his signature song: La Borinqueña.
The correction commissioner’s driving habits and the deputy mayor for development’s corporate past have them under scrutiny by city investigators and housing advocates, respectively.
Bill de Blasio has added significantly to New York’s decades-old effort to protect the undocumented. But when it comes to fully resisting Trump’s aggro enforcement policy, the city’s political will and legal authority are limited.
In 2004 the island was rezoned to preserve suburban character and restrict population growth. Now islanders have decided they want a thriving downtown as well as quiet streets, so the zoning maps are again open for an edit.
There were good intentions, but some boards and certainly the Bloomberg administration underestimated the threat of gentrification, board members say.
Some community groups fear that rezonings will force low-income residents out. City Hall says rezonings are needed to prevent further loss of affordability. Amid a lack of clear evidence, any risks of the de Blasio rezonings will be borne primarily by low-income communities of color.
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