ANIMAL » Economy

Rent in Manhattan is Too Damn High

Bucky Turco — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:45:20 +0000

According to new report by brokerage giant CitiHabitats, the average rental price of a Manhattan apartment is
ridiculously expensive or $3,352 a month. That comes out to about $40,000 a year, which is remarkable when you consider that the average Manhattanite only makes a pinch over $50,000 a year. (Photo: Joe DeRenzo/flickr)

$8.50 An Hour Still Sucks

Bucky Turco — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:15:35 +0000

Did you know the minimum wage is only $7.25 an hour? Wow, that’s terrible. How can New Yorkers even live off of that? Assembly Republicans in Albany disagree and have vowed to fight a proposal by Democrats to increase it to $8.50, which is still pretty cheap.

As someone who once worked for minimum wage back in the day when it was only $4.25, the measly amount made it a lot easier to rationalize stealing from my employer at the time. Sorry Cooper Square Domino’s, but you made me do it.
(Photo: Adam Kuban/flickr)

City’s Furnishes Homeless With Latest Proposal

Bucky Turco — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:20:27 +0000

Mayor Bloomberg and the heartless bastards who run New York City’s Department of Homeless Services have another brilliant idea to compliment the already cruel initiative that the City Council is suing them over. Under that proposal, the homeless need to prove they don’t have anywhere else to stay.

But the latest plan will attempt to force them back into the last place they stayed and if there is no place to sleep, will help them rearrange the furniture or maybe buy a couch.

“There are modest changes that can be made to the layout of an apartment to accommodate another single,” says DHS Commissioner Seth Diamond. He’s hoping the new approach will discourage 10 percent of persons seeking shelter and save the city a measly $4 million. Godspeed on that lawsuit council members! (Photo: C-Monster)

Half Of Rocawear’s NYC Workforce Canned — The Day Before Blue Ivy Was Born

Bucky Turco — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:32:27 +0000

On January 6th, the day before hip hop mogul Jay-Z celebrated the lavish birth of his baby daughter Blue Ivy at a decked out Manhattan hospital that he reportedly donated $100k to, 28 out of 56 Rocawear employees were laid off according to the New York State Department of Labor website for “economic” reasons.

With all these newly unemployed people, suddenly this tee takes on a whole new meaning. (Photo: Roc4life)

NYC Evictions Lead to Booming Business

Bucky Turco — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:00:27 +0000

When a tenant is evicted and not present to collect their belongings, a landlord must incur the cost of hiring licensed pros to pack up those items and by law, hold them in safekeeping for up to 30 days. This is great news for moving and storage companies in New York City, cause it happens a lot.

With the economy sucking, poor neighborhoods have become a hotbed for these types of businesses and they’re creating quite a windfall for the entire cash-in-on-other-people’s-misfortunes industry. Hooray? (Photo: City Limits)

NYC Has to Rely Less On Wall Street Or It’s Screwed

Bucky Turco — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:39:18 +0000

According to a new report, the city needs to find a new sugar daddy or face an uncertain future. “Significantly lower Wall Street profits will make balancing New York City’s budget more difficult,” wrote State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Perhaps it’s not good fiscal policy to depend on dysfunctional gamblers to pay the bills?

New York Tax Code Occupied

Bucky Turco — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:10:00 +0000

Last night, New York lawmakers voted to approve a new tax code that no one would have expected a few months ago. It was only back in October, on the one month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, that Governor Cuomo reiterated his commitment to letting the millionaires’ tax expire and refusing to hike the rate on the 1%.

It was also the same day a Quinnipiac poll was released and showed 67% of NYC voters agreed with the protesters.

In the past 80 days or so, it can be argued that Occupy Wall Street was able to do what Democrats—all the way up to the president—have failed to for the past few years: Change the dialogue about taxing the rich.

For too long, the airwaves were saturated with the Republican mantra of the wealthy as “job creators,” and how asking them to pay their fair share was tantamount to a jobs-killing form of socialism.

But a few dozen marches and hundreds of mic checks later, that has all has changed. Now the only real argument is centering around whether the newly proposed measures represent a tax break or a tax hike for the state’s wealthiest residents. Regardless, they’re paying more than they would have had the millionaires’ tax been allowed to expire and the 99% got a break. For a group that prides itself on operating outside of the political system, this is quite the political victory for OWS.

Money Problems Still Terrorizing Ground Zero

Bucky Turco — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:01:31 +0000

Although the 9/11 Memorial opened with much fanfare to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks the ostentatious museum which was slated for debut in 2012 could face delays, again, over money: $156 million to be exact.

That’s how much the Port Authority says the foundation looking after the site owes for the construction it did at the location.

In addition to the outstanding tab, there’s another $300 million in outlandish security costs that has to be figured out. On top of that, there’s the $60 million a year in operating costs, essentially turning this project into more of a memorial of ineptitude than one of remembrance for victims.

Chinese Steadily Snatching Up NYC

Bucky Turco — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:00:33 +0000

America’s financiers have been taking advantage of their market position and quietly making it rain all across the city according to the Times. Chinese banks and investors are heavily invested in real estate and companies have staked out commercial space in prominent locations, such as the Empire State Building and 1 World Trade Center. They’re even fixing the bridges. China is essentially our new landlord.

Forget Gold, Invest In Yellow Cabs

David Weiner — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:02:05 +0000

So, the world is ending. Time to buy gold! Or is it?

Instead of mining your grandmother’s mouth so you can afford to buy milk and underwear, if you have the means you should be looking to that other expensive bit of yellow: taxicabs. Last week the city auctioned off three taxi medallions, two of them netting a record $705,000 each. To put that in perspective, that’s like one Casey Anthony trial or one Rick Perry home.

Just a matter of time until Glenn Beck starts pushing this shit. (Photo: Sugar Sweet Sunshine/Flickr)