New York City is facing an accessibility crisis. Rents have skyrocketed. The century-old subway needs modernization, and buses are painfully slow. Piles of garbage bags often sit on the sidewalks. The person responsible for fixing these issues, Mayor Eric Adams, is facing a major corruption scandal.
But not all is lost. City and state officials are advancing several ambitious proposals that they hope will improve life in the city. The Democrats who govern New York are crafting new policies because voters are concerned about their quality of life.
Here are the proposals and how they could improve things for New Yorkers:
• Better traffic: The streets of Manhattan are congested with traffic and delivery trucks double-parked. The country’s first congestion toll plan will charge $9 for vehicles entering Manhattan south of Central Park, aiming to reduce traffic and raise money for the troubled transit system.
The plan has been in the works for decades but still requires federal approval, and the Biden administration is ready to sign it before leaving office. Donald Trump and suburban lawmakers have vowed to end the charge, arguing it could harm the city’s economic recovery since the pandemic.
• Lower rent: Now, if you rent an apartment in New York City, you have to pay a broker to secure a lease. A proposal in the City Council would shift this fee from renters to landlords. A young progressive legislator proposed the bill, which has just been passed despite opposition from the real estate sector. Critics argued that landlords would pass on the cost by raising rents. The law is likely to take effect next summer.
• Cleaner sidewalks: Piles of smelly garbage bags appear on the city’s sidewalks on collection day. They take up a lot of space and often tear, spilling trash into the street. Now, the city is creating new rules for garbage collection. Starting this month, residential buildings with nine units or fewer must place their trash in bins. Eventually, the city will remove parking spaces in dense neighborhoods to make way for large containers on the streets. Other major cities, like Barcelona and Buenos Aires, already do this.
Some landlords and building staff oppose the new garbage collection rules, complaining about the appearance of the bins and the requirement that trash be kept indoors until closer to collection time.
While New Yorkers may disagree on tactics, most want to make the city more livable. More than half of local voters say the city is moving in the wrong direction.
Source: The New York Times