The Times covers a Gen Debt story they've written about many times before-- the unaffordabilty of housing for young arrivals in New York City. This time, it struck me that the examples they used are not particularly well chosen. Ok, so you've got nine students at NYU, a private university, from families who are "fairly comfortable financially," camping out for three months in free office space--donated by one of their fathers. This is a crisis? Sounds more like a lark.
Also, many of the people in the article seemed to have the problem that they weren't looking beyond Manhattan or neighborhoods like Williamsburg. New arrivals have to search beyond the obvious to find bargains.
Much, much more to the point would be to look at the living situations of young people who arrive in the city without family money or connections, just working and trying to make it. The words "Bay Ridge," "Bushwick," and "basement" come to mind.
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This article is part of a never-ending series run by the Times, entitled, "Rich White People Sure Do Have it Hard." Some Examples:
"It's Getting So It's Almost Impossible to Get Your Child Into a Good Private School These Days"
"Can't Afford the Hamptons? The Hot New Place to Buy Your Summer House is [_________]"
and this latest installment,
"Young Children of Privilege Sure are Wacky!"
These are reported as general "human interest" stories. It's a bizarre myopia, wherein all the very wealthiest New Yorkers are re-christened "Average Joe's," while actual "Average Joe's" aren't even on the radar. The problems of the elite are told as the problems of "New Yorkers."
What's worse, when the elite decide to go slumming, the attitude is positively colonial. You'll get these stories like, "Lately, people are starting to discover Fort Greene." News to the people who were living there already...
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