One zoning change in particular would be especially beneficial for Bushwick: allowing artists to form cooperatives and transform industrial and commercial buildings into live-work spaces, which is currently forbidden in districts zoned only for industrial use, like Bushwick’s north-west and south-east borders. Additionally, these zoning changes could be extremely effective if accompanied by some changes to the development financing system that would allow for more government loans aimed at smaller and nonprofit developers, such as community development corporations. These institutions are legally required to put their profits back into the buildings and community they’re built in, which keeps rents affordable, allows for hard-working building staff to receive better wages, and contributes to the development of strong civic infrastructure through projects like community gardens and after-school programs. Some community-based solutions that can curb the rising prices of rent include networking to create a strong community of tenants and homeowners, talking to your neighbors, discussing issues that affect all groups of residents, reporting abusive landlords, going to community board meetings and finding out what is going on with the zoning regulations in your hood. Also, if you rent, be a good tenant: try to stay put for more than the period of your lease, take good care of your apartment, and take initiative with your home repairs and small home improvement projects (while communicating about it with your landlord to see if you can get discounts in rent). And do your best to avoid living situations where a recent gut renovation has led to a spike in rent!
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 03:31:46 +0000
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