Well I never kept a dollar past sunset,
It always burned a hole in my pants.
Never made a school mama happy,
Never blew a second chance, oh no
Between the oppressive heat, the inability to escape it anywhere in LIC via shade cover, the lack of fireworks, and no G train, there might seem to be a pall being cast over Long Island City. Worst of all, our local news is pretty much a rehash this week. But let’s face it, all those TF Cornerstone apartments aren’t flying out the door for no reason. That reason might very well be captured in the cover article in this past Sunday’s New York Times real estate section entitled “Homeownership, the Key to Happiness?” Basically, it can be summed up by the Beatles refrain “Money Can’t Buy You Love.” or you may choose a direct quote from the article itself:
“The reality of maintenance and repairs, and being ‘house rich but cash poor,’ can negate much of the perceived happiness people may have had about homeownership,”
So then, what does make people happy when it comes to where they live? That too can best be summed up with a direct quote from the article:
Moving farther inland would have meant a larger place for less money, but a much longer commute. “I can spend my time biking rather than driving to work,” she said. “That changes the way I use my time.”
By now you might be thinking “Wait a minute, didn’t I already read an insightful story that came to the same conclusion several months ago?” Yes readers you did, right here at LICtalk.
Whichever article you did read first, just keep in mind the moral of the story: Be wary of more space in the ‘burbs, it may not be worth the trade-off.
Homeownership, the Key to Happiness? – channeling LICtalk
Affordable Housing in LIC? Many Residents Say Not at All – griping about rents, LIC’s national pastime …for which there is no All-Star game
MoMA PS1 Gets Expansion Funding – what do I need to do to secure $3 mil for more space? Ok, how about 10 bucks a month for bike storage?
More Afternoon Service for Da G Train? – “These recommendations will allow the G to keep pace with skyrocketing growth in Brooklyn and Queens”
Doe Fund Will Start Cleaning Streets In Hunters Point – 3 mil for MoMA PS1, and now JVB secures 65K for street cleaning
A Councilman Wants Koch’s Name Removed from the Queensborough Bridge – there’s a reason this story is last …yawn
Anonymous says
July 16, 2013 at 8:58 am$65,000 for clean streets? Jimmy Van Bramer has been spending way to much time in Sunnyside and Woodside, we have other more pressing needs here in LIC.
deleted says
July 16, 2013 at 9:13 amCity could have offered street cleaning, instead we resort to manual expensive labor. At least those of you who park your cars on the street get free tax-payer funded parking because of your refusal to sacrifice moving your cars a couple of times. That money could have gone to better use.
word to your mama says
July 16, 2013 at 10:51 amDeleted: Street cleaning was proposed and shot down by most residents in LIC because of parking issues. But, the street and sidewalks have litter all over them and I think that Jimmy is utilizing this money well to get our streets clean. Since people seem to enjoy throwing trash all over the sidewalks and streets and not in the garbage bins! Also the Sanitation Dept. needs to issue more summons to people who don’t keep their sidewalks clean.
word to your mama says
July 16, 2013 at 9:21 amThanks Jimmy our streets really need to be cleaned there is way too much trash on the sidewalks and streets. cant believe that there are so many litterbugs here in LIC!
Anonymous Bosch says
July 16, 2013 at 9:22 amIn 2013, money CAN buy you love! At least as far as LIC real estate is concerned.
PO says
July 16, 2013 at 11:25 amAgreed #1. As alluded to in this post, and in recent previous ones, there are a whole host of rather small lifestyle fixes that need to be made or accelerated. We’re going to have 90+ degree heat all week and no shade or sprinklers!
Ro says
July 16, 2013 at 12:16 pmI am not sure that LIC has any more “litterbugs” than any other neighborhood. What I do know is that our neighborhood is very windy and sometimes the trash cans are heaping with garbage. These two things are not a good mix. Good to hear that we will have people dedicated to cleaning our commercial district streets. Now lets get some street cleaning for the rest of the neighborhood and stop being the free long term parking for Manhattan residents and commuters.
Swing Voter says
July 16, 2013 at 2:21 pmFix what’s broke, before moving on to other headline grabbing projects.
Bill says
July 16, 2013 at 9:29 pm“It’s the little things, stupid.”
storage spaces parity performance says
July 23, 2013 at 12:27 pmHmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the pictures on this blog
loading? I’m trying to determine if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog.
Any responses would be greatly appreciated.