NYC Politicians Say Yes to Big Real Estate Amid Housing Crisis | The Real Deal
Saul Maurer has not yet seen the latest news about the city’s housing crisis and still finds himself at Manhattan’s Chelsea Market. His phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from residents anxious to find out what’s going on with their housing.
“I’m just a middle-aged guy, I’m not a homeowner, I’m not looking for anything to do with the city or with politicians,” said Maurer, a real estate investor who lives in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. “I was just checking to see if I had any problems.”
Maurer, who doesn’t vote in local elections, said he is concerned about the city’s deteriorating housing conditions and its “huge impact” on the city’s tax revenue.
“We’ve gotta get it fixed,” he said. “The problem is there’s a lot of uncertainty. Is it the subprime loans or the high inventory or the fact that there’s not enough housing? Who knows what is causing the problems.”
One neighborhood resident told the Real Deal that he feels like a victim of the subprime crisis. He said he is worried about foreclosures, and is not sure whose fault it is that he lost his house two years ago. He said he can’t vote in local elections because he lives in California, where he has more political clout.
The recent news about the lack of affordable housing in the city continues to be a major talking point in the presidential campaign, but as the Real Deal reported last week, there are some signs that candidate Barack Obama is getting more involved in this issue.
Obama is set to address the nation’s housing crisis at a series of town halls on housing Wednesday and Thursday.
“It’s good to get some positive movement on this issue,” said
