Illegal conversion of single room occupancy ('efficiency') apartments in NYC threaten one of the few remaining sources of private, affordable housing in the City. Housing advocates attempt to stem the tide, but it's rough going.
"As the city faces a serious shortage of low-cost housing for its own residents, building owners are turning existing units into hotel rooms, hostels and corporate housing for out-of-towners. The trend is most noticeable in Manhattan neighborhoods where the supply of low-cost units was already dwindling and the demand for tourist rooms has shot up."
In Chelsea and Clinton, Mr. Kalin of Housing Conservation Coordinators said his organization had found different types of illegal conversions: rent-regulated apartment buildings being run largely as hotels, rent-regulated apartments being used as short-term vacation rentals, residential apartments being chopped up into single rooms for European students, residential buildings being leased commercially for use as corporate housing.
He added: "It gets to the heart of a conversation we have all over the place when we try to defend affordable housing in our neighborhood. We think it's important to the identity of our neighborhood and the city to preserve diversity and preserve stability in some of the neighborhoods that make up New York, including those at the city's core. It may be a more efficient use of real estate to segregate people by income and segregate land by use, but I think it ignores the thread of community that people in our neighborhood and elsewhere find so valuable about living in New York."
FULL STORY: Tenants Losing to the Tourists, Room by Room

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Poorest NYC Neighborhoods Pay Price for Delivery Boom
The rise of ‘last-mile’ e-commerce warehouses — and their attendant truck traffic and air pollution — is disproportionately impacting the most historically disadvantaged parts of the city.

Greening Oakland’s School Grounds
With help from community partners like the Trust for Public Land, Oakland Unified School District is turning barren, asphalt-covered schoolyards into vibrant, green spaces that support outdoor learning, play, and student well-being.

California Governor Suspends CEQA Reviews for Utilities in Fire Areas
Utility restoration efforts in areas affected by the January wildfires in Los Angeles will be exempt from environmental regulations to speed up the rebuilding of essential infrastructure.
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