New York's cover story this week is on The Most Livable Neighborhoods in New York ... and it should provide plenty of discussion ... the editors have created this quantitative index (below) of the most satisfying places to live in... and the East Village finishes... No. 10! Here's there explanation:
The neighborhood with the highest concentration of bars in the city (if not the world) scores off the charts in all the expected areas: retail diversity, restaurant density, proximity to nightlife, and desirability to the creative classes, with only schools and affordability truly lacking. With a typical two-bedroom running at about $3,300 per month, it’s expensive. But thanks to nearby NYU, the East Village has more income and ethnic diversity than most of its neighbors.
So the East Village is No. 1 in bars/nightlife... and 49th out of 50 for housing cost? Surprised?
Overall, Park Slope is No. 1 while those LES upstarts (heh) are No. 2. Read the whole thing here.
"liveable" is certainly a relative term. i would say the EV is barely liveable these days, thanks to the oceanic overcrowding and party noise.
ReplyDeleteDo the members of the CB3 actually live in the East Village? Do they hear all this?
ReplyDeleteI think the reason housing costs are through the roof in the EV is, in part, due to the number of public housing complexes we have. At first thought, you would think this would lower rental prices, but it isn't always the case. Due to the finite number of apartments in the area, when you allocate x% to public housing, you leave less housing for those that are not on public assistance. As such, we bid up the prices of the remaining apartments due to excess demand and limited supply. With a large number of bars and restaurants, young professionals are willing to bid up the prices even more.
ReplyDeleteI think one way to lower the costs of EV apartments would be to do away with the public housing and give those individuals who need the assistance a set dollar amount to seek out their own housing. This would free up a significant portion of housing and allow those families who desire not to spend all of their housing dollars on EV rent, to relocate to more affordable locations.
doing away with public housing is NOT the answer. social diversity, coupled with lack of commercialization (comparably), is what helps give the EV its charms.
ReplyDeleteLook at the abysmal school ratings! That most certainly influences the ratings. What is this based on, may I ask?
ReplyDeleteI found answers to my questions here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/04/additional-information-on-new-york.html
Thanks for the link, anon — I hadn't read all the hows and whats and whys on the rankings yet.
ReplyDelete