New Article: Ross Barkan, The YIMBY War Breaking Out on the Left, NY Mag (Sept. 16, 2022). Excerpt below:
Most ideological factions, left and right, agree that New York is in the grip of a housing crisis. After a pandemic lull, rents are skyrocketing again, brokers are slapping on prohibitive fees, and eviction cases are clogging housing courts. What to do about it, of course, invites all kinds of debates — and none may be fiercer than YIMBY versus NIMBY.
There is no agreement on the exact meaning of the two terms, but each group can be painted with broad enough strokes. The NIMBYs favor less development, either from the lens of preservation — keep bucolic, low-lying neighborhoods as they are — or in the belief, ultimately mistaken, that building market-rate housing will lead to rising rents nearby. Many conservatives, safeguarding the suburbs, are NIMBYs, as are run-of-the-mill Democrats and enough progressives, though they wouldn’t classify themselves that way. YIMBYs favor looser rules and rezonings to spur housing construction and increase the density of given towns and cities.
Poverty Law 