If luxury housing seems to be rising all over the city that’s because it is. So much is going up so fast that it can only have a transformative and gentrifying effect on the city. And the statistics on new luxury or market rate housing demonstrate this. At the same time, there is very littleContinue reading “Gentrification Math & the False Promise of Affordable Housing”
Author Archives: jerseycitytoday
Why is the City Selling Public Property to Luxury Housing Developers?
Why is the City selling buildings and land it owns to luxury housing developers in the midst of a housing crisis? A look at some sales of city property in just one area of the city in the last few years raises this question as well as others. 612-616 Communipaw Avenue Last year, the cityContinue reading “Why is the City Selling Public Property to Luxury Housing Developers?”
Why So Much Luxury Housing in a City Where Most Can’t Afford It?
Why does it happen? How does it happen? How is it justified? What impact does it have? Why? The short answer is, that’s where the money is. Luxury, or market rate housing, provides a greater return on investment for developers, banks, investment, law and architectural firms and others with a vested interest in real estateContinue reading “Why So Much Luxury Housing in a City Where Most Can’t Afford It?”
Why Do So Many New Apartment Houses Look Alike?
You’ve seen them because you can’t miss them – those boxy, modern, mid-rise, apartment houses with their flat windows and synthetic facades, on top of retail, commercial and garage spaces. Some are gray and black while others are brightly colored. They’re not only rising all over Jersey City, but across the country as well. And people areContinue reading “Why Do So Many New Apartment Houses Look Alike?”
Signs of Gentrification: House Numbers, Their Color and Design
The cultures of cities have changed with the arrival of more affluent residents. They bring their tastes and lifestyles adding to the diversity of cities. And, according to some online observers, their tastes can be seen even in the numbers on their homes, as well as their color and design. For example, the term “gentrificationContinue reading “Signs of Gentrification: House Numbers, Their Color and Design”
Bergen Avenue’s Makeover Near Journal Square
When city officials target an area for what they call “improvements” and “revitalization” to create a “vibrant public space” – and start focusing on its “historic identity” – it raises some questions: Why are they doing this? Why now? Why has the history, look and feel of this place suddenly become so important? It seemsContinue reading “Bergen Avenue’s Makeover Near Journal Square”
The Fight for Journal Square
The struggle of residents to stay in their homes as new development continues at a rapid pace in and around Journal Square was at the forefront in a City Council Caucus Meeting on September 18. According to the area’s representative on the City Council, Rich Boggiano, residents are being pushed out by escalating housing costs:Continue reading “The Fight for Journal Square”
Pompidou x and Newark Museum
In Jersey City art seems to be everywhere. It’s on the walls of buildings as well as in their lobbies. Developers are creating “art walks” – displays of art works along pathways outside their buildings. More art galleries have emerged in recent years as well as tours of them and artists’ studios. Jersey City, likeContinue reading “Pompidou x and Newark Museum”
Behind the Loew’s Theater
There are stories behind the Loew’s theater in Journal Square, stories about how a city changes and in what ways as well as who decides and what interests are being served. One has to do with the theater itself and the other with the luxury high-rises planned to go up behind it. The latest storyContinue reading “Behind the Loew’s Theater”
Journal Square’s Controversial New Pathway
In what was described as an “emotional meeting,” the City Council voted to empower the city to take possession of 50 Journal Square, an eight story office building, through purchase or eminent domain, despite opposition from the owner and some residents. The city plans to demolish the building and use the space to create aContinue reading “Journal Square’s Controversial New Pathway”
Luxury Housing for All: Lessons from Vienna
How would you like to spend just 20-25% of your income on rent in luxury housing, near work, in a neighborhood where everything you need is a walk away? That’s the way the residents of Vienna live. Vienna’s high standard of living, and its luxury-style housing for all, has attracted the world’s attention and evenContinue reading “Luxury Housing for All: Lessons from Vienna”
Should Luxury Housing Be Rent Controlled?
Efforts are underway in Newark to bring much of its new housing – which is currently exempt from rent regulation – under rent control. An ordinance, put forward by mayor Ras Baraka, requiring newly built apartments be to rent controlled, was recently presented to the City Council. While there are few details so far, theContinue reading “Should Luxury Housing Be Rent Controlled?”
Living with Roommates: The New Affordable Housing?
Co-living, a housing arrangement in which strangers share an apartment, arrived in Jersey City last year. Common, a company that leases and manages shared living properties, said it was offering 80 co-living units in 20 apartments at The Agnes, a 233 unit luxury housing development by Route 440 on the city’s West Side. Each apartmentContinue reading “Living with Roommates: The New Affordable Housing?”
Is Selling Firehouses and Other Public Property a Good Idea?
I humbly request that the Council explore effective solutions to address this critical issue [affordable housing] for those of us who give our all to safeguard the city and its residents. I, for one, am willing to give all my energy in any way that I can to help further this effort so that myself,Continue reading “Is Selling Firehouses and Other Public Property a Good Idea?”
The Hidden City
Most people pay little attention to the buildings they pass each day, the streets they walk, the stores they shop in and coffee shops they frequent. But these places contain hidden stories about the way we experience the city and relate to others. They also serve as reminders of the past and signal the futureContinue reading “The Hidden City”
Journal Square: A Lost Opportunity?
With the announcement that the Pathside Building in Journal Square will become an outpost of the Centre Pompidou, the French contemporary art museum, has the city lost an opportunity to provide affordable housing and other amenities for the city’s workers and families? The most dire need of residents in the Journal Square area, as wellContinue reading “Journal Square: A Lost Opportunity?”
The Pompidou x and the “Art” of Redevelopment
Have you ever noticed that whenever you see luxury housing some kind of art is often nearby? It might be a wall mural, a piece of sculpture or a painting or maybe an artifact from a factory or warehouse reimagined as art. It could be an art gallery or an art museum. Luxury housing andContinue reading “The Pompidou x and the “Art” of Redevelopment”
Residents Speak Out on Housing
In recent months Jersey City residents have spoken out at City Council Meetings on the affordable housing crisis in the city. Here are the views of a few at one particular meeting in October that not only put a human face on this issue but provided an incisive critique of the city’s approach to affordableContinue reading “Residents Speak Out on Housing”
Who Owns Jersey City?
As real estate in Jersey City has become more valuable in recent years, investment firms have entered the market acquiring many properties to add to their portfolios. They appear to be focused on purchasing apartment houses, although this is unclear since there is little information on their investment activity. Their presence in the city becameContinue reading “Who Owns Jersey City?”
Everyday Architecture
Everyday architecture – from buildings to benches – is part of the built environment we inhabit, pass by or engage with everyday as we go about our lives. They may be places where we work, shop, socialize, relax or find entertainment. They are often smaller buildings and places that feel more intimate and closer toContinue reading “Everyday Architecture”
Jersey City Today 