Friday, February 15, 2013

Quinn, the developers' handmaiden

From the NY Times:

A centerpiece of Christine C. Quinn’s plan to keep housing affordable in New York City is a variation on a proposed tax subsidy for landlords that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg forcefully rejected two years ago as an unacceptably generous giveaway to the real estate industry.

Aides to Ms. Quinn, the speaker of the City Council and a leading Democratic candidate for mayor, acknowledged that the idea had come from the city’s real estate industry, one of Ms. Quinn’s closest allies and biggest campaign donors.

But, the aides said, Ms. Quinn had altered the proposal in important ways since it was heavily criticized by the Bloomberg administration, and predicted that it could, over time, preserve the dwindling supply of apartments that are within reach of the city’s middle-class families.

She unveiled the plan in her State of the City speech on Monday.

The measure and its origins highlight a recurring tension in Ms. Quinn’s rise to political power, between her passion as a former housing activist for liberal causes and her growing willingness to work with the corporate interests that control the levers of power in the city.

City developers and landlords, led by their powerful trade group, the Real Estate Board of New York, have long sought a real estate tax cap, which would guarantee them a discounted and predictable long-term tax bill in return for renting out some apartments at below-market rates.


Which still won't make them affordable enough.

8 comments:

Suzannah B. Troy artist said...

Melinda Katz biggest real whore city council who helped push thru illegal third term and lost her bid to be comptroller.....no offense to sex workers and Quinn replaced her as biggest real estate whore
Mike's mini me so we have no hospital in W Village with a rape crisis center Quinn faux feminist sold us out to Bloomberg pal Rudin and every real estate magnate possible including NYU, Columbia U., Cooper Union, The New School, NY Law all posing as higher Ed but used the term community facility to busy thru zoning exclude and crush communities

Anonymous said...

She should run for office in New Jersey.

Anonymous said...

Cmon, "YOU" know you're going to vote for her.

Anonymous said...

Christine shuttered St. Vincents on behalf of her good pal Bloomberg. her political career is over.

Anonymous said...

She'll be our next mayor because New Yorkers are the dumbest, most forgiving voters in the country

Jerry Rotondi said...

Handmaiden? I'd say more like a harlot!
Pucker up, Chrissy!
Your campaign donations will be delivered soon!

Anonymous said...

Did somebody just suggest that Quinn is now giving hand jobs to real estate moguls, as well as the lip service she's been giving to the voters?

Anonymous said...

https://www.facebook.com/DefeatChristineQuinn