Back to 19th Century Living in NYC: Bloomberg Proposes “Tenement Sized” Apartments for $2K a Month

This story is a bit old so I apologize if you have already seen it.  I somehow missed this when it came out, but it came across my radar in the last couple of days and I think it is significant enough to highlight.  Back in February, 2011 I wrote a piece called “Serf Size Me” and in it I predicted:

Sizes are about to shrink dramatically and prices will go up at the same time.  Food quality will probably decrease as well, which is hard to imagine considering the crap that is sold as food every day.  In any event, I have a suggestion for McDonald’s.  They should just teach us Americans to accept our indentured servitude to the financial oligarchs and roll out a “Serf Size” menu.  People will get to the acceptance stage that much faster as they say, “serf size me!” and then walk away with three fries and a five ounce soda.

Well anyone with a pulse and a budget understands all too well how accurate this prediction has been.  What I find incredibly interesting is Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s latest proposal to construct “micro units,” which are basically tenement sized apartments between 275-300 square feet that will rent for $2,000 a month!  Think I am exaggerating about these being tenement sized?  Well just take these quotes from a CNN article on it:

The pilot units will be required to fill at least 75% of the building. They’ll have kitchens and bathrooms, but are far smaller than current city minimums of 450 square feet.

“New York City’s housing codes have not kept up with its changing population,” the mayor’s press release said.

What a joke.  How about this from a Huffington Post article on the topic:

A typical mid-19th century tenement apartment on Manhattan’s Lower East Side might have been larger than one of the micro-units, measuring 325 square feet, but would have typically housed families with multiple children. The micro-units are to be leased only to one- or two-person households.

I’m sorry, but poor immigrants didn’t want to shove their entire families into these tiny spaces back then, they did it out of necessity.  How long will it really be before single people can’t afford $2,000 a month for these rat holes and are forced to pile in more people?  Not long would be my guess.  The key point I am making here is that this is just further evidence of the tremendous standard of living collapse occurring in the United States today, which is being intentionally covered up by the political and financial oligarchy via manipulated statistics and sophisticated propaganda.  These apartments are merely evidence to me that this trend is only going to accelerate in the months and years ahead.  The Sequel to Gangs of New York will be filmed in 2015, staring Michael Bloomberg as Boss Tweed.

Meanwhile, still not a single bankster in jail and the big banks are bigger that before the crisis. Mission Accomplished!

Read the CNN article here.

Read the Huffington Post article here.

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

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3 thoughts on “Back to 19th Century Living in NYC: Bloomberg Proposes “Tenement Sized” Apartments for $2K a Month”

  1. The irony of this absurd plan being presented by none other than Mayor Bloomturd is too precious to resist. Without a mechanically provided means of constant air exchange in such a small and confined space, one would soon poison oneself with the most evil of all gasses known to man, carbon dioxide. Without a constant energy sucking source of air exchange one will succumb to one’s own exhalations! Beautiful, Bloomturd! No matter what a person does, one can not get away from carbon dioxide.

    And don’t forget, Mike, if little barry dunham gets re-elected, he is poised to mandate his Sustainable Communities Initiative via Executive Order that will mandate people leave the evil suburbs / rural towns and move into densely packed urban highrises (to save the planet, don’t you know). The drones and true believers will think we are saving the planet but really we will just be burrowing into rat holes and wallowing in our own hells created from images imposed on us by our banking overlords!

    Le Sigh! It looks like I have to agree with Ann Barnhardt and conclude that we get to choose between Stephanie and her friend or Stephanie and her friend in November.

    Reply

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