To the Editor:
Re “In Era of San Francisco-ization, What Do San Franciscans Fear?,” by Emily Badger (The Upshot, Dec. 27):
Elected officials are right to fear the San Francisco-ization that Ms. Badger describes. And at this unique moment in New York’s economic development history, which includes Amazon’s arrival, New York City leaders have looked west and seen what hasn’t worked.
To this end, I would like to offer a definition for New York-ification: to make investments in affordable housing while diversifying the economy and ensuring that tech jobs are widely accessible. Unlike San Francisco, New York will never be a one-industry town. Moreover, the city is dismantling San Francisco’s legacy of a homogeneous tech sector and is committed to connecting New Yorkers of all backgrounds to these opportunities.
But New York is really proving to be the anti-Silicon Valley by curbing gentrification through affordable housing. Mayor Bill de Blasio has committed to build or secure 300,000 affordable homes by 2026. If becoming New York means securing housing for generations while working to build pipelines from public housing, high schools and colleges to well-paying tech jobs, other cities should be so lucky.
James Patchett
New York
The writer is president and chief executive of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Source: Read Full Article
Home » Analysis & Comment » Opinion | Avoiding San Francisco’s Errors
Opinion | Avoiding San Francisco’s Errors
To the Editor:
Re “In Era of San Francisco-ization, What Do San Franciscans Fear?,” by Emily Badger (The Upshot, Dec. 27):
Elected officials are right to fear the San Francisco-ization that Ms. Badger describes. And at this unique moment in New York’s economic development history, which includes Amazon’s arrival, New York City leaders have looked west and seen what hasn’t worked.
To this end, I would like to offer a definition for New York-ification: to make investments in affordable housing while diversifying the economy and ensuring that tech jobs are widely accessible. Unlike San Francisco, New York will never be a one-industry town. Moreover, the city is dismantling San Francisco’s legacy of a homogeneous tech sector and is committed to connecting New Yorkers of all backgrounds to these opportunities.
But New York is really proving to be the anti-Silicon Valley by curbing gentrification through affordable housing. Mayor Bill de Blasio has committed to build or secure 300,000 affordable homes by 2026. If becoming New York means securing housing for generations while working to build pipelines from public housing, high schools and colleges to well-paying tech jobs, other cities should be so lucky.
James Patchett
New York
The writer is president and chief executive of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Source: Read Full Article