Give them an inch and they'll take a mile.

Good luck with that, Bloomie. NYC Landlord/Tenant laws are a legal nightmare. I'm sure there will be many more NY Times stories about it.

i still don't understand how the builder expected to recoup the cost of marble baths and granite countertops on condos for 350k. even in that part of NYC 350k is really a starter price, and shouldnt include frivolous upgrades like that

"...So they rented it to us for our standard thing."

What does that even mean? What's "our standard thing" according to Bloomberg?

@craptastico: There are all sorts of different grades and quality levels of granite and marble. And I'm sure they have the obligatory stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. It still can be cheap, though. Or corners can be cut elsewhere.

@bagumpity: The residents are not legal tenants. New York City is.

Its my impression that the "standard thing" was that the city will be paying enough to cover the mortgage, but the company will be making no profit.

I have to wonder how they police the place to ensure that building materials and appliances aren't ripped out and sold by the residents. Not to say that all homeless people are ner' do well thieves, but I'm sure that some percent of them will steal anything that they can.

@temporaryerror: They don't want to admit it, but they're probably bolting down the appliances precisely because they wonder about the theft rate. Most places only provide a fridge, stove, microwave and dishwasher anyway.

@1stMarDiv: and "post a blog entry about poor people and obnoxious fucks will come pass judgement".

i love truisms!

@pecan 3.14159265: IIRC, it was $90 a night

@pecan 3.14159265: Heh. Sounds like something the ex-governor of Illinois would refer to.

@pecan 3.14159265:

Sounds like he's saying the city didn't pay any more for those apartments than they normally do for any other shelter space.

DUH. That's how these things work. Anyone who thought otherwise is dense.

@temporaryerror: Well-off people can be theifs, too, you know...

@1stMarDiv: Who are you referring to, exactly?

@southernbitch: -1, hippie.

@bagumpity: FAIL. They aren't tenants. I doubt squatters would be covered either.

@nakedscience: True, but the statement was probably made for all the people upset that the homeless will be getting to stay somewhere so nice as opposed to the people moving into the shelter.

@Rectilinear Propagation: Oh, I know that -- it was just a clarification for the idiots who don't realize that homeless shelters are always temporary. Considering, in the original article, that the $90/mo rent per unit or whatever went to services, job placement, etc., I thought that'd be pertty obvious, but people are idiots and like to pass judgement on poor people.

@nakedscience: theifs?

@ThinkerTDM: Dammit, I was hoping no one would notice!

@craptastico: He may not have gotten all of his investment back, but some money is better than just leaving them empty (as they were).

@pecan 3.14159265: What? There are plenty of stand-up people that have fallen on hard times, that doesn't automatically make them theives.

Way to perpetuate a stereotype.

@nakedscience:

Starting to look like most of them are.

@thegirls: At 350k as a starter price. with those amenities, that would be a killer deal in Los Angeles. Where across the street from me are tiny cramped condos that started at 400 and went up to over 1 mil. The things were poorly laid out and wouldn't sell. They ended up trying to auction them off a week ago. Don't know if we will start seeing people move in or not though.

@thegirls: Did you even read what I wrote? I was saying that the city of NY didn't want to admit it, but they were probably already protecting themselves because they probably think that the appliances are at risk of theft.

Geesh.

@bagumpity: Also...like the mayor cannot "finagle" around certain issues.

Move on when? When they have trade skills? A GED? The requirements to get a job? If not, the entire enterprise is pointless. Dislocating the homeless on a regular basis only perpetuates their situation.

Well it's pretty obvious that the mayor had to say that, because we all know that poor people exist only to steal our hard-earned tax dollars and none of them would ever want to better themselves or stop living in squalor. All of The Poors are just junkies or criminals anyway. It's not like there are any normal people who fell on hard time in this economy and became poor and needed to use a shelter for themselves and their family.

@Terence Fox: Yay! Reading is HARD!

From the original article (which this was just a clarification of):

its standard $90 a night per apartment - or $2,700 a month.

That amount also includes on-site services like job and housing counseling.

The entire point of this post was to clarify that point, because people like to demonize the poor.

@squinko: It's sad that he had to say it, but he did, because even though the last article Consumerist posted said this:

its standard $90 a night per apartment - or $2,700 a month.

That amount also includes on-site services like job and housing counseling.

Commenters STILL THOUGHT those using the shelter were getting a free ride.

It's sad.

@nakedscience: But they are? They're not paying for any of that.

@Jessica Haas: How dare those people get a place to stay instead of having to sleep on the street! How dare they get any kind of job training or anything to help them stop being homeless! Why should we bother fighting the causes of poverty and trying to help people get off the streets when we could just slap a Bandaid on it and call it good?

@Jessica Haas: Uh, yeah, because they it is a homeless shelter. Do you know what that means?

@Pixelantes Anonymous: I doubt the question of "who is the legal tenant" will be much more than an arguing point when the lawsuits start flying. Which they will.

Actually, I think the papers will drag this one out as long as they can. "Outrage! Homeless person evicted from luxury apartment by evil (pick one or more: NYC mayor, corporation, government organization)" makes for EXCELLENT headlines. (As does "Outrage! Squatters take city taxpayers for a ride, get free champagne, caviar, and ponies")

File this one under "Jean Bagumpidixon Predicts..."

@nakedscience: They're not CHARGING the homeless $90 a night. They're SPENDING $90 a night per homeless person of our tax dollars (well, in this case, your NY tax dollars) so the homeless persons don't have to get a job or find their own place to live.

Fuck that. I'm gonna be a icy-hearted conservative about it and insist that the free shit homeless people get is not better than what I can afford as an actual working person who's "paying the salary" of these bums.

PS: I voted for Obama , Nancy Pelosi, and Gavin Newsom.

@West Coast Secessionist: Did you read the quotes? It's temporary! Almost every homeless shelter is. They are a way to help people start to get their lives back together with people who can help them. You're also ignoring the fact that a majority of homeless adults have mental illness that prevents them from getting or keeping a job.

I would be astounded if they allowed residents to stay for more than 30-45 days.

@West Coast Secessionist: You really don't understand homelessness or what's going on right now, do you? Homeless people aren't all bums and crack addicts that don't want to work. Haven't you seen the hundreds or articles about entire families being homeless? Right now, the majority of homeless people are women and children. Please explain to me how children don't deserve a shelter so they can get off the streets and stay with their families.

Did you read the quotes?

@wwahammy: I can't tell whether or not West Coast Secessionist was being sarcastic or not. I think maybe that's what the PS was supposed to indicate (that they're not a conservative) otherwise that line makes no sense.

@West Coast Secessionist: Somehow, I got the strange and misguided impression that they were spending $90/day/unit to put entire families into these units, and it included job counseling - ie, was specifically targeted at making sure they DID get jobs and get out of the system. I wonder where I came up with that idea.

Oh, wait. It was in the original article. Reading comprehension is FUN!

@nkdscnc: Wy t b fckng btch bcs dn't gr wth y. Y rlly nd t stp jmpng n ppl, s t vry dy nd 'm srprsd y gt pst th dtn.

Gt ff yr mrl hgh hrs nd sht th fck p, pls.

@pecan 3.14159265: Most places? I don't know any renters whose landlord threw in a microwave and only a tiny percentage with a dishwasher in their place.