Why Everyone Should Study At Least a Little Economics

So they don't write this:

"The [waterfront] development [in Queens and Brooklyn] had a massive effect on the rest of the city, as thousands were priced out of the neighborhoods and forced to move to different ones or out of the city altogether."

So, the theory here is that an increased supply of housing -- the waterfront development happened mostly on space that had not hosted housing before the building spree -- drove prices up!

The analysis is, of course, backwards. It was the increased demand for housing in the outer boroughs, which was already driving prices up, that spurred the wave of development. In neighborhoods where development has not been possible, due to historical district designation, such as Cobble Hill or my neighborhood of Carroll Gardens, prices went through the roof. On Columbia Street, buildings that went for a few hundred thousand in the beginning of the 2000s now sell for over $2 million. Blocking development in the face of rising demand only makes housing prices increase faster!

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