Skyscrapers and Skylines: New York and Chicago, 1885-2007

This paper compares and contrasts the determinants of the market for skyscrapers in Chicago and New York from 1885 to 2007, using annual time series data. I estimate the factors that determine both the number of skyscraper completions and the height of the tallest building completed each year in the two cities. I find that each city responds differently to the same economic fundamentals. Also, regressions test for and find the presence of strategic interaction across the two cities. I also estimate the effects of zoning regulations on height. Compared to New York, Chicago's zoning policies significantly reduced the height of its skyline.New York, Chicago, skyscrapers, building height

Discussion on common errors in analyzing sea level accelerations, solar trends and global warming

Errors in applying regression models and wavelet filters used to analyze geophysical signals are discussed: (1) multidecadal natural oscillations (e.g. the quasi 60-year Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)) need to be taken into account for properly quantifying anomalous accelerations in tide gauge records such as in New York City; (2) uncertainties and multicollinearity among climate forcing functions prevent a proper evaluation of the solar contribution to the 20th century global surface temperature warming using overloaded linear regression models during the 1900-2000 period alone; (3) when periodic wavelet filters, which require that a record is pre-processed with a reflection methodology, are improperly applied to decompose non-stationary solar and climatic time series, Gibbs boundary artifacts emerge yielding misleading physical interpretations. By correcting these errors and using optimized regression models that reduce multicollinearity artifacts, I found the following results: (1) the sea level in New York City is not accelerating in an alarming way, and may increase by about 350 mm from 2000 to 2100 instead of the previously projected values varying from 1130 mm to 1550 mm estimated using the methods proposed by Sallenger et al. (2012) and Boon (2012), respectively; (2) the solar activity increase during the 20th century contributed about 50% of the 0.8 K global warming observed during the 20th century instead of only 7-10% (IPCC, 2007; Benestad and Schmidt, 2009; Lean and Rind, 2009). These findings stress the importance of natural oscillations and of the sun to properly interpret climatic changes.Comment: 21 pages, 10 Figure

Homeless People Count: Vacant Properties in Manhattan

We need significant changes in housing policy to develop real housing out of empty property. Our core demands include: Creation of a regular citywide census of vacant buildings and lots. Empowerment of NYC Department of Buildings to expand the Building Code concerning "nuisance" buildings, to declare unoccupied buildings "nuisances" on the grounds that they are "detrimental to the life or health" of the community at large, including homeless people. Empowerment of NYC HPD to levy an annually-increasing fine against non-compliant landlords in an amount equivalent to the current cost of bringing the building online. Development of a mechanism by which DHS-funded shelter residents can "opt out" of shelter and into housing, with a portion of the money currently being paid by the City to their shelter being used to rehabilitate empty buildings. Amendment of NYC Rent Stabilization guidelines to ensure that when these properties are brought back online, previously-rent-stabilized units, which typically lose their stabilization as a result of their vacancy, will revert to stabilized status

The Social Wellbeing of New York City's Neighborhoods: The Contribution of Culture and the Arts

This report presents the conceptual framework, data and methodology, and findings of a two-year study of culture and social wellbeing in New York City by SIAP with Reinvestment Fund. Building on their work in Philadelphia, the team gathered data from City agencies, borough arts councils, and cultural practitioners to develop a 10-dimension social wellbeing framework—which included construction of a cultural asset index—for every neighborhood in the five boroughs. The research was undertaken between 2014 and 2016.The social wellbeing tool enables a variety of analyses: the distribution of opportunity across the city;identification of areas with concentrated advantage, concentrated disadvantage, aswell as "diverse and struggling" neighborhoods with both strengths and challenges; and analysis of the relationship of"neighborhood cultural ecology" to other features of a healthy community

From Welfare to Work in New York City Public Housing

This Essay highlights the relationship between welfare and work in New York City\u27s public housing. Part II discusses the composition of the Housing Authority\u27s tenant body in past years as well as the political and social changes affecting the Housing Authority. Part III presents current Housing Authority ideas and programs that address moving tenants from welfare to work. Part IV outlines strategies employed by the Housing Authority to attract more working families, thereby improving the economic mix and social stability of the tenant population. Finally, this Essay concludes that while the Housing Authority cannot, and perhaps should not, address the complex social issues of poverty, it will continue to provide economic and other opportunities for its residents to function and prosper, while accomplishing its primary mission-to provide safe, affordable and decent housing for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers

Skyscrapers and the Skyline: Manhattan, 1895-2004

This paper investigates the determinants of skyscraper building cycles in Manhattan from 1895 to 2004. We first provide a simple model of the market for tall buildings. Then we empirically estimate the determinants of the time series of the number of skyscraper completions and their average heights over the 110 year period. We estimate the model under the assumption of rational expectations and myopic expectations, and find that the myopic model provides a better fit of the data. Furthermore, we find that several local and national variables determine both the number of completions and the average height of skyscrapers, including New York City area population; national employment in finance, insurance and real estate; building costs; access to financing; property tax rates and zoning regulations.Skyscrapers, building cycles, building height, Manhattan,New York City, myopic expectations, rational expectations