Home WORLD NEWS Andrew Yang nails Brooklyn house price query in NYC mayoral race

Andrew Yang nails Brooklyn house price query in NYC mayoral race

by Bioreports
26 views
andrew-yang-nails-brooklyn-house-price-query-in-nyc-mayoral-race

Two New York City mayoral candidates – Shaun Donovan and Ray McGuire – vastly underestimated the cost of a home in the borough of Brooklyn, guessing the average price as $100,000 when the actual price is $900,000, raising questions about whether they are in touch with everyday New Yorkers.

By Craig GiammonaBloomberg

A home in Brooklyn for $100,000? Maybe 40 years ago.

Shaun Donovan and Ray McGuire, two of the candidates seeking to become New York City’s next mayor, vastly underestimated the cost to buy a home in Brooklyn during recent interviews with the New York Times to weigh endorsements in the race.

The public gaffes raise concerns around whether the candidates are in touch with everyday New Yorkers and whether they are qualified to address the city’s affordable-housing challenges.

McGuire, a former Citigroup Inc. executive, guessed that the median sales price in the borough was $100,000. Donovan, a former city housing commissioner, cited $80,000 to $90,000.

Former presidential contender Andrew Yang nailed the correct answer: $900,000.

Per @zillow, there is *one property* in all of Brooklyn available for $100,000.

It’s not a house. It’s not a townhouse. It’s not a condo or co-op. It’s not some one-room studio with a shared bathroom down the hall.

It’s a *parking space*.https://t.co/Ph6UxoTCIk https://t.co/5uvkHtPRaI

— Joe Cirrhotic (@LivingBoyinNY) May 11, 2021

Kathryn Garcia, the former city sanitation chief whom the Times endorsed for mayor, guessed $800,000. Maya Wiley came in at $1.8 million.

When provided with the $900,000 median price, Wiley answered “in some neighborhoods it’s a lot higher.” A spokesman for Wiley said she knew how much an apartment costs.

The comments came just six weeks ahead of the June 22 primary, which is likely to decide the city’s next mayor in the heavily Democratic city.

It’s likely been close to 40 years since the median sales price in Brooklyn was $100,000, according to real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel Inc.

Miller has data going back to 2003, when the median in Brooklyn was $299,130. His Manhattan numbers date to 1989, when the median price in New York’s costliest borough was $240,000.

At the time, Brooklyn prices were about a third less than Manhattan, meaning the last time Brooklyn’s median was $100,000 was in the early 1980s, Miller said.

A spokesperson for Donovan said in a Twitter post that the former city housing commissioner misunderstood the question.

McGuire acknowledged his error and said it wasn’t a reflection of his commitment to addressing the city’s housing woes.

“I messed up when accounting for the cost of housing in Brooklyn. I am human. But make no mistake, I care deeply about our city’s affordable housing crisis,” McGuire said in an emailed statement. “I know what it’s like not being able to afford a home because it was my own experience.“

Spokespeople for the other campaigns didn’t immediately respond to a requests for comment.

You may also like

Leave a Comment