Housing Front and Center

There's a small article in today's NY Post that highlights Governor Spitzer's concern with housing. In this case it's middle class housing: "Trying to rally support for his plan to spend $400 million on middle-income housing, Gov. Eliot Spitzer yesterday visited a Brooklyn housing project that he lauded as an example of affordable housing for working families."

The key here, of course, is that affordable housing is not just for the very poor. The housing crisis in the city affects the working families, many of whom are city workers like teachers and police. AS the governor said: "The city, at the end of the day, will not survive" unless affordable housing is provided. "New York City is not just Park Avenue and Fifth Avenue."

Which brings us to the Columbia situation. The land swap plan being developed by Nick Sprayregen envisions a mix of affordable housing that includes not only poor people but the working class as well-folks being priced out of Manhattan who will be further exiled as more gentrification is spurred by the university's expansion. Things should start to come to ahead this week.