Eric Kober
Latest Articles
New York will receive the housing relief it needs
New Yorkers despairing about the housing-supply crisis can breathe a small sigh of relief thanks to much-needed state legislation passed in April. In a negotiating triumph for Gov. Hochul, the...
Good news for Hochul and Adams: More New Yorkers are working than ever
Good news for Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams as new data reveals that more New Yorkers are working than ever.
Gov. Hochul has struck out on housing reform — but here's what could actually help NYC's crisis
None of Gov. Hochul's 2023 land-use proposals were enacted. But she could turn her fortunes around by supporting plans that lead to housing.
Why Gov. Hochuls' New York Housing Compact failed
The defeat of Gov. Hochul's New York Housing Compact makes it that much harder to develop affordable housing as politicians place votes over actual voters.
Adams' plan for 500,000 new housing units needs private support to work
Last fall, New York’s Department of City Planning (DCP) proposed ambitious zoning changes intended to break the regulatory logjam that stops the city from getting the housing it needs. That...
NYC’s population actually grew during COVID — and it needs housing fast
Results from the 2020 Census confirmed that New York City’s population grew significantly in the decade up to 2020, by 629,000.
NYC's next mayor can save our lousy public housing — with private investment
How can Gotham’s next mayor succeed on public and low-income housing? A winning approach would embrace private investment and allow more flexible zoning and other regulations, while relying less on...
5 ways the next NYC mayor can guarantee affordable housing after de Blasio failed
New York City mayoral candidates often make extravagant promises on affordable housing, and underproduce on results. Back in 2013, for example, then-candidate Bill de Blasio banked on solving the city’s...
NYC planning is a nightmare — here comes a plan to make it worse
In 1936, New York City adopted a new city charter, creating the City Planning Commission and charging it with drafting a master plan that would “provide for the improvement of the...
Broken zoning rules are crippling NYC’s COVID recovery
New Yorkers have too many worries at the moment, perhaps, to think about urban planning. But the breakdown of the city’s land-use process should loom large for all of us....
To boost recovery, New York City should end the zoning insanity
New York City is in a steep recession, with about 850,000 jobs lost over the past year, most owing to the novel-coronavirus lockdowns. Some of these job losses will be...
Key NYC services are stuck in the 1950s — and everyone pays the price
Would you pay hundreds of dollars for a 1950s Western Electric rotary phone when your neighbors have iPhones? No, you wouldn’t. But when it comes to public services, New Yorkers...
To boost housing, NYC should take a cue from California
California and New York both have serious housing shortages. But their responses offer a surprising study in contrasts. In New York, the progressive state Legislature pursues punitive rent regulations and...
The City Council's charter-reform power grab
At the end of January, with no fanfare, New York’s City Council released recommended changes to the city charter. The council wants to use the Charter Revision Commission to strip...