Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Developers should open wallets for MTA

Hey, here's an idea: Why not make the developers who cause all the overdevelopment which leads to congestion pay money to the MTA?

Civic groups that fought for congestion pricing say the real estate industry, which already funds the MTA through taxes on mortgage recordings and sales, could be fair game for new revenue.

"I think real estate is a definite target, since the value of real estate is tied to the availability of the subway system," said Jeff Zupan, a transportation expert at the Regional Plan Association.


With congestion pricing dead, real estate taxes eyed for MTA funding

I'm all for it.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Developers are fair game for additional tax to fund transportation infrastruture. However building boom has come to a full halt - new development from here out will be paltry at best - too little too late. We will mostly be facing empty crap housing units that don't sell in a recession yet alone in the unique credit crises. A real estate developer solving problems (He he)more like protecting the industry especially with PA tenure. Every Governor we have go back to the same well - it's dry - try someone else for change.

Anonymous said...

Look, this is an excellent idea. The only reason the developer$ are making this kind of money is that they are divorced from the infrastructure costs.

Make 'em pay!

Anonymous said...

That's a great idea. Living in NYC is too cheap. Let's drive up the prices of real estate even more by taxing developers. I'm sure that will have no effect on the price of real estate. I think there are a few teachers and firemen who can still afford to live in the city. Let's do what we can to get rid of them.

Unknown said...

It still amazes me that buildings are allowed to be built without a thought to where the people are gonna park that live there. There are so many streets in NYC that have been re-zoned to allow parking to "Help" the tenants but this HURTS the businesses that now can't get deliveries or have to double park which adds to the problem. Enough over priced condo's!! We don't have the room on the streets or subways for what's there already. I'm all for taxing the developers to support the MTA, and even street repair, maybe when they realize what it means to build in NYC they will build somewhere else!

Anonymous said...

"Let's tax the rich!!!" Guess what? Own a home in NYC? You must be rich! Every penny of taxes will be passed through (and then some) to tenants and home buyers.

Anonymous said...

"It still amazes me that buildings are allowed to be built without a thought to where the people are gonna park that live there."

Like Robert Moses who built the Triboro Bridge, then forced Grand Central on the city after the fact as the traffic needed an outlet, the idea is to hide the infrastructure costs when the papers toute all the new buildings.

Only when it becomes painfully obvoius AFTERTHEFACT are you and me, dear lady, the taxpayers, forced to pay for the infrastructure costs of a project where overseas hot money is reeping the profits.