Why New York’s Billionaires’ Row Is Half Empty

[@buba_Dukz]

Wow! Wow! Wow! Just wow! They did it guys. They kept their promise. The half an hour video from the best channel for construction in the world just gave us the best treat of the year. I love you B1M. Your videos are spectacular. I can write almost an entire book about how much y’all have helped me in learning about construction projects around the world right here from the comfort of my home 📱 🛋 . You guys are the absolute best of the best . I’m sooooo grateful for rocking with y’all for over a year now I believe. Keep up the spectacular work mate 👏🏾🤍 🚧 And Sending loads of love right here from The Bronx NewYork City 😊

[@Adamroable]

It would be interesting to hear about projected maintenance cost for these buildings. I can't imagine what it would cost to reglaze the windows or do any other kind of upkeep. Also, local law 11 requires the entire exterior to be inspected every 5 years. This would require at least a sidewalk shed, if not scaffolding to be erected during the process. Also, there is all the special engineering on the inside, pumps, mass dampers, and a whole bunch of other things that I'm sure I have no idea of how they work... These systems would all have to be custom engineered, which means super expensive to maintain. 432 Park avenue is already bitterly embroiled in a lawsuit, I think this is just a tiny glimpse of the chaos that will surround these buildings going forward.

[@asmodeus1234]

Settle down Bubs, can I get you his number?

[@buba_Dukz]

@@asmodeus1234 yup ☺️

[@buba_Dukz]

@@Adamroable It’ll be really interesting 😯

[@kimtae858]

Post-irony at its finest when these comments get liked and pinned by the channel they're lampooning.

[@JW77]

The one thing that amazed me the most when I moved to the US 10 years ago, was lobbying. I believe it's called bribery in the rest of the world.

[@Porcelynnn]

Yup.

[@meenerman7693]

if only you knew how bad things really were

[@ea7654]

Facts

[@whogavehimafork]

That would be correct.

[@melodramatic7904]

When I finally understood what lobbying was my first thought was "how is this legal?"

[@rossmanngroup]

The retail stores are empty the offices are empty, and billionaire's row is empty. Welcome to NYC!

[@Komatic5]

Yoo Rossman, didn’t expect to see you here lol

[@boboman67]

A symbol of our decade

[@willn8664]

@@Komatic5 lol. Louis is a New Yorker and besides rightfully thrashing Apple and trying to help Apple customers the right way, if you've seen his other videos, Louis has also been exposing the BS that has been going on recently in NYC especially the way Cuomo is running it.

[@clickbaitcancer120]

Lmao! Your videos on NYC real estate is probably why this was recommended to me out of the blue...

[@Komatic5]

@@willn8664 I’m aware of that but that doesn’t mean I’d expect him to be on every NYC-related vid lol

[@smartbart80]

Plus, those empty apartments are cooled all throughout the summer because constant change in temperature damages furniture and art, so when the city asks residents to decrease their power usage to avoid blackouts I'm guessing it's mostly the poor who do it.

[@tilerman]

For sure. I'm a tradesman here in London and i work in some very large expensive homes for wealthy people and in the main they don't give a toss about heating bills or the environment. Central heating on full blast 24/7 for 4 or 5 months of the year (or more) and air conditioning on 24/7 for the remainder. Even when no one is home. I've worked in 15 bedroom mansions that are baking hot in the winter and freezing in the summer. The bills must be astronomical.

[@danielirvine7468]

Wow I just commented about the power usage now too It’s cold here where I am but the power price is getting too high for heat Meanwhile this life power bills aren’t really a thing

[@blakesleyk.7166]

Heated in the winter, as well, I’m guessing? I live in the desert w/o A/C. If I require that to live here, I shouldn’t be here. Your comment was enlightening. Thank you!

[@smartbart80]

@@blakesleyk.7166 I live in NY and do restoration work in these apartnents. They are not complete waste since they require constant cleaning and maintenance so they provide some people with employment.

[@blakesleyk.7166]

@@smartbart80 I’m going to wager they’re spending more on utilities than $$ spent on labor.

[@thatisabsolutelykooooge2211]

If there are “$6.7B worth of condos still on the market” that simply means that they’re not worth $6.7B…

[@liam3284]

That game worked for Evergrande

[@BlyGilmore]

The scary thing is this move to own housing as an investment isn't just restricted to these ultra-wealthy properties like Billionaire's Row. More and more 'normal' homes are being scooped up as an investment at the detriment of people who'd actually like to live there.

[@keltonfoster]

Black Rock is being used to accomplish the type of world that the WEF has envisioned for the 99 percent of mankind. As for the ultra rich they will have their own society away from the lower class. Something so extravagant that the blue collar kind of people can't even envision it at all.

[@QGoblin]

Its extremely bad here in Sweden. The wealthy buy rental houses and apartments then double the rent so only the well off can rent from them.

[@gljames24]

It's especially bad in places with mainly R1, low density residential housing. Cities need to get more comfortable with mid and high density housing

[@madebymollo1780]

China is buying all the properties

[@idirhhrin8876]

Cope

[@philstory2556]

This part really rubbed me the wrong way, When Serhant said "Smart people end up being incentivized to make money and their lifestyle increases" Ryan Serhant is not self made, his father was the vice chairman at a company with 3.9 trillion USD in assets under management. He was born in the purple.

[@keithnichols7926]

That folks like Mr Serhant have family money in no way contradicts the observation that the founders of the family were smart.

[@milessumida6770]

I have never wanted to hurt anyone more than during Serhant's monologue. It was among the scummiest things I have ever heard! My favorite part was him talkimg about the important things his taxes fund in one breath and boasting about how he avoids paying them whenever possible in the next!

[@tommycocacocke]

Smart people are scientist, doctor etc, greedy people are rich

[@RickKasten]

Oh there you go bringing facts that disrupt capitalist fanboy narratives into the conversation....

[@pipster1891]

It's easier to be 'smart' when you've inherited millions of dollars.

[@strodey123]

I remember walking along the edge of Central park a few years ago, people sleeping on the benches in the shadows of these $100m empty apartments. The stark contrast in humanty.

[@sirstretchy7365]

wow thats a little scary

[@loydloydloyd]

Stop talking that communism bullshit. Those homeless people own a great privilege, the USA passport. And having it, they spend their time searching in trash containers. They do not try to find a job and live normally. It is their choice and responsibility

[@robertchen8297]

Not humanity, just USA. Based on purchasing power parity, USA is probably one of the worst countries in the world.

[@adjudicator4766]

@@robertchen8297 not even close but go off

[@moonasha]

I feel so naive. When I learned about these buildings, I was like, "oh cool they're adding more housing for people." How naive I was.

[@bil8647]

There is a class action suit against Park Tower- 432 Park Ave, by it's residents. Everything from the building vibrating to the elevators stopping whenever the wind blows over 10mph to leaks, the list goes on. The plans were pushed through the city planning commission, and it was never pointed out that it would cast a shadow right across central park.

[@thea7826]

would be a great painting, or photo, "The shadow of capitalism"

[@panpsychism_]

I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but I would love to trim Mr Soules’ rat tails 8:48, just sayin’

[@paulsuprono7225]

Shadow ... WOW ! 🤗 🇺🇲 👍

[@HoneyBadgerVideos]

great idea actually@@thea7826

[@ericafors6039]

These thin towers look ridiculous. They completely ruin the skyline. I’m not a fan of the NYC skyline anyway…. It looks like a jumble of Jenga blocks with no aesthetic merit. Without the park, the city would be a concrete disaster….

[@GrinerB]

That real estate guy justified rich people's ability to game the system by listing a host of taxes that normal people also have to pay while completely ignoring the benefits the rich people have that normal people don't have access to... Rich people having to pay sales tax on their nice shit doesn't provoke any sympathy out of me...

[@TheAlbinoskunk]

Lists a bunch of taxes that he knows full well his clients have offshore companies to avoid paying, and then sarcastically criticises the existence of tax itself. It's difficult to imagine someone more deplorable than that guy

[@bobbowie9350]

Realtors are the scum of the earth

[@marleychronic8530]

Ryan Serhant is his name, he has a tv show and deals with luxury real estate.

[@JerryKosloski]

You're just salty because he does more in one week than you do in an entire year.

[@leedart]

No "Jerry" it's his and the new normal of greed in the system... The nonchalant humorous and gleeb of person's like you that see nothing wrong with the complete gaming of the system as well laying the societally financial weight on the working class is no more than being a happy plantation owner from the historically horrific and barbaric southern states. Just remember that people eventually get tired and do violently act out and what you think is in benefit of a luxury lifestyle has ALWAYS come crashing down taking the whole society with it. Try growing old without a country and lots of wealth. It never ends well either.....

[@RGld-jg8rs]

I live in Melbourne and definitely have felt this, in my building there are easily 200-300 apartments, but given the amount of neighbours I've encountered and mailboxes I've seen empty, I think no more than 100 are occupied. At one point for almost a month my roommates and I realised we were the only occupied apartment in our entire level

[@archipiratta]

Yeah, Aus rentals are messed up, especially in the bigger cities like Melbourne and Sydney

[@JoBlakeLisbon]

You have had strict rent control laws in Melbourne - the end result of these laws is scarce housing for most people, indulgently cheap living for a few and an excess of luxury property as the city eventually makes exceptions for the top end of the market. The same thing happened in Stockholm, Cairo and Hong Kong. The chain of causation between rent control laws and this end result is very well understood by anyone with even a cursory knowledge of economics.

[@againstthepods4316]

That’s so cool I love lonely buildings and’s streets I’m very emo like that

[@toni4729]

There's nowhere to live in Brisbane, everyone from Sydney and Melbourn is moving up here and the rents are skyrocketing.

[@againstthepods4316]

@@toni4729 why

[@thatcrazykid1393]

The overfocus on the hyper-wealthy seems to be a serious problem for the construction industry. Demand for regular homes is higher than ever and yet developers still aren't building enough of them.

[@TheGeorgeous]

Preach !

[@josephdadey]

There's just less money in doing the right thing. No one is interested.

[@sabni8668]

No, demand needs to be backed by funding... I'd not get too preachy unless you want to disclose how much of your personal wealth you're gonna give up to contribute toward building regular homes for buyers with no money........

[@hughmungusbungusfungus4618]

Thanks to restrictive building codes, it's not profitable to build new construction for affordable housing.

[@buzzkillington3354]

@@sabni8668 so you just keep building houses for rich people who don't want them....

[@kabirjavaid]

This episode was enlightening, especially for someone who studies affordable housing. It's amazing how you connected billionaire housing to lack of affordable housing. What you have uncovered is the fact that billionaire housing developers bought off future development rights off of affordable housing development and concentrated all that housing into empty buildings. The air rights were not from buildings that were accommodating billionaires. The air rights belonged to properties that were accommodating people from middle class and even poor. Now, those development rights are embedded in empty buildings that belong to super rich. To make matters worse, They keep building more meaning more air rights belonging to middle class and even poor will no longer exist. Meaning no more future accommodation for these individuals. Thank you for your work.

[@dan-bz7dz]

Affordable housing in Manhattan?

[@jeffwilson3527]

Virtually no middle class or poor have been in manhattan for a long time.

[@AntoshaPushkin]

Affordable housing in the most expensive area of the most expensive city in the world. Doesn't sound delusional at all /s

[@thehoboman]

The engineering that goes into these buildings is always fascinating, but the economic/societal side of things is definitely troubling.

[@anthonyrios8566]

NO doubt these Buildings are Beautiful Architecture Works, Only for the Billionaires, Commoners, Working Class, Middle Class Need Not Apply. 🛸

[@Falconlibrary]

Welcome to the future. 16 million vacant houses in the US and two generations of Americans can't afford even one.

[@suzpro8165]

@@anthonyrios8566 What are you paying for, really? One great big chunk of square footage, encased in sterile glass? Where are the breathtaking appointments, where are the things that make you go "WOW!!!" and where is the uniqueness of the residence itself??? Give me Sutton Place or The Village, any day of the week!

[@lolollolol5654]

and the architecture is backward

[@Astro-M0]

The buildings are nothing crazy tbh

[@RedPandaStan]

I like how this channel has gone from discussing and praising the architecture of billionaire's row to pointing out how fucking terrible it is for literally everyone. Character development.

[@z.b.8168]

Do you know Mr Rainer Winkler?

[@dengxiaopinggaming5500]

And it's definitely a great change of pace. This is fantastic journalism

[@mstewart4431]

Its the difference of what money and capitalism can do vs done through loopholes. This video is brilliant.

[@trump1123]

Gutsy channel with pinpointed information explained what's going on globally. Special interest groups ripoff our housing rights by squeezing every inch of landvalues in our countries, making ghostly towns everywhere billionaires brought all those properties but NON-of-them lived in those properties. Because those 'vultures' sucking everything dry, housing prices are ridiculously unreachable for citizens to inhabit. B1M speaking out loud for us.

[@RyanNHoang]

The more you look into it the more you hate it

[@mauritsbol4806]

I have been watching 10 minutes of this. And i want to urge you. Please make more of this. This documentary style video is absolutely what i love about construction, how it is so integrated in human society and how it sometimes raises questions and issues. I think this should not be the only videos you should continue to make but pleaase make more of this. This was great!

[@trainrover]

mass hypnosis myst suit your sort.......

[@IGinaI]

Everytime I see something like that, I find it just so grotesque that there are people on our planet without enough money and recourses to afford education, a home, maybe even food, while in the same moment there are people able to spend more than 100,000 million dollars on a place they never even step a foot in.

[@Alpharizzchad]

😅 That's life

[@ameba9727]

​@@AlpharizzchadThat could change.

[@Tsukaiyo]

"We have enough for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed"

[@imreallyagoat]

Fr

[@CrocodileDendi]

@@ameba9727 *has to

[@nadiamariko]

It’s heartbreaking to me that there are so many people living on streets freezing, starving, and struggling, while there stands so many buildings almost completely empty.

[@SW-wf3gy]

agree with you

[@n.b.a1529]

Snowflake ❄️

[@themaskmandhaka3717]

Lol..then do something

[@sant1970]

You have a better system? I doubt it

[@dumbassdumpling5025]

@@sant1970 yep, america actually has the least homelessness and poverty of other similar countries. we also have the best access to medical care and really good birth mortality rates :)

[@fredstanley419]

I like how the rich dude listed a bunch of taxes that literally everyone pays.

[@mf--]

I bet most of those rich dudes don't even pay those taxes.

[@SephBane]

After the video just pointed out that they were largely avoiding many of these taxes.

[@nickgamingmusic9911]

Yep this exactly. Truly out of touch privileged people.

[@GTIModBlog]

@@nickgamingmusic9911 I mean he did touch on it immediately after, it’s just cut later into the video. He understands the wealth gap and factors that are growing it. Not a dumb guy.

[@UDPride]

@@mf-- you wanna bet? The filthy rich pay an ungodly amount in taxes. Its almost theft. The bottom 47% dont even pay an income tax. The real question is why would someone want to live in the rat-infested city of NYC anyway where it costs $100M to live the life it would cost $10M elsewhere in the USA.

[@koertdubois6781]

"Architecture as spatial financial form, not as shelter or cultural manifestation." Nailed it. Bless you guys.

[@JN-er5yu]

This statement speaks volumes as a recent Architecture school grad... definitely an interesting future ahead of us.

[@melaniecotterell8263]

deciding how to develop these properties is a task I would not wish to undertake. No best choice with so much at stake. Get multiple proposals than eini meani miney moe?

[@michaeld5888]

The problem is shown in the UK where the housing is used to a large extent as a money laundering asset repository for the funds pouring in to London which creates prices that bleed out in to the provinces. The middle classes cashing in buy in to the provinces for a second or primary home outbidding the locals and prices spiral leaving them homeless or with their parents until old age. The pressured limited housing stock in the UK coupled with its unsustainable population level is a major social disaster in the making.

[@hairyairey]

@@michaeld5888 Almost with you until you claimed "unsustainable population level" - the UK is nowhere near as densely populated as Hong Kong and others!

[@Schwuanse]

Unfortunately that is true not only for housing, food, fuel, toilet paper. Everything seems to become an investment destabilizing our world... :(

[@ExpanderDJ]

Brilliant documentary. I was just in Dubai staying in one of many luxury apartments in a skyscraper district (an Airbnb), and as I drank my evening tea I was baffled to see that absolutely most of the windows in all of the other skyscrapers were completely dark. The only lights illuminating those buildings were the decorative LEDs running along the facade, which create the illusion of a lived in space.

[@petersmith2040]

I visited Shenzhen, Ch1n@, several years ago and most of the units in their residential towers were empty. The irony was that the developers keep on building new towers because the demand from Ch1n3se investors were so high. Fast forward to 2024 and the real estate market in Ch1n@ has crashed and many investors are in financial distress. That’s why the economy in Ch1n@ is now in a recession and there are fewer Ch1n3se tourists are travelling to Europe and the U.S. Plus, there are now fewer Ch1n3se investors buying real estate overseas.

[@MrMarkOlson]

It was SHOCKING to hear that NYC somehow decided it was a "good" thing to finance billionaires by making their ultra-luxury property tax rates lower than those of the middle class living in their own homes. Fix that inequity and there will be fewer empty living spaces, more options for regular buyers, and fewer homeless.

[@cryingafrican6858]

Economic development. And since the billionaires that do live there pay the most to live there as well. Pretty sure they pay atleast 100x what the average person does.

[@MrMarkOlson]

@@cryingafrican6858 As a percentage the rich pay less. Of course it is more in flat dollar terms, but it is still a regressive tax which favors the rich.

[@gideonkloosterman]

@@cryingafrican6858 Why should they pay less % though 🤔

[@gideonkloosterman]

@@cryingafrican6858 also how does a city benefit from being an asset? that 169mil is mostly going to the guys that built the giant matchstick and from that point onwards there's barely any money rolling.

[@cryingafrican6858]

@@gideonkloosterman less property tax because they’re trying to invite wealthy people into the city to boost economic prosperity. By that I mean a lot of wealthy people know New York City is a horrible financial investment, so if they can bring in more wealthy ppl they can tax more money off their profits, the wealthy will spend more money on housing and consumables. It’s like a business doing a discount to increases sales and volume. And look at it like this. Who pays more? A middle class person with a 10% tax rate on $850,000 or a rich person paying 5% on $10,000,000. I do agree apartments like these are kind of stupid, but understand that there will always be the poor. There’s absolutely nothing you can do about that. In fact I want to do philanthropy and create shelters when I go into business, but no matter what there’s always going to be more Homeless or starving people.

[@dr.kinderman5290]

So basically, the amount of wealth that's been generated has become so great that there need to be things you can actually buy with it. So these units in these skyscrapers are used. The draw not being prestige or the unit itself, but simply being something valuable enough to represent the wealth you have. It's like a giant pile of money basically

[@Kisamaism]

A giant pile of money that is pegged to a real estate dollar, sure. And that's horrifically volatile. Which means even MORE money is spent padding the pockets of assessment agencies while ensuring "premium demand" (talking up the value within the real estate sector, buying up real estate to ensure scarcity, lobbying politicians to approve gentrification projects, etc.).

[@TechRedstone]

not quite, its speculative investments actually. when wall st controls the value of the dollar, owning anything is better than owning a dollar.

[@father3dollarbill]

Imagine being a billionaire and knowing you could comfortably invest and keep making money and at the same time, help your city or your country. But not doing it, ever. Instead, just spend it in pleasure.

[@TheCamckee]

couldn't be more wrong. its an asset that doesn't devalue as the government prints money. I bought my house in 2018 for 220k. its now worth almost half a million. But if i kept half a million in the bank with the governments obsession with printing money, itll lose 9-12 percent of its buying power in 1 YEAR. I dont know if its done on purpose or if they are all imbeciles . But the constant printing of money is pushing rich people who have the funds to buy property's that will rise with inflation which protects their dollar. Its pretty simple really and i dont blame them for it. But its fucking everyone else. Stop printing money, make it safe to save it in the bank. and this wont happen.

[@jonahdement4379]

​@@father3dollarbill Not even for pleasure, just using it for making more money, oftentimes.

[@ekszentrik]

Dude, not just the height and thinness of these buildings is skyrocketing, but also your production quality. Mad props.

[@willgoodwin4577]

Couldn't agree more.

[@ekszentrik]

@leictreon MAN OF CULTURE

[@BrickedUpBuilds]

As a 23 year old who won’t be able to afford a house in the next 5 years with a stable career field and job outlook, this sure made me happy for the rich :))

[@gigel99324]

Yes you could afford a home. But it won't be in a city and you would have to build it or fix it yourself

[@WonderWhile]

@@gigel99324 If you cant afford a property in the city or the suburbs of the city where you work, the system is fucked. Stop apologizing for it.

[@gigel99324]

@@WonderWhile "the system" can't cripple hard workers and wealth builders so much that they'd get outbid by time and money wasters

[@zyrexx0012]

​@@WonderWhileif didn't work yourself why would you blame the gov.? You fked up for life yourself

[@jdtubaman]

@@gigel99324 Not even that. You can get a new build in places if you know where to look. But, as you said, it is not going to be in a city and as we all know, younger people tend to want to live in cities rather than outside and while there is good reason they do, it's not going to get what they are aiming to achieve.

[@JakeWolven]

It was interesting to hear Ryan describe the people who evade taxes as "smart" and then 2 minutes later explain the problems that the rich are creating. It's like he understands it but chooses to not do anything about it.

[@Hanessy]

People who evade taxes are probably smart. But they’re also selfish, and that’s where the problems come from.

[@masonrussell579]

HE SHOULD START A MARXIST UPRISING IN THE STREETS lmao. Why should they not try to optimize their taxes? It’s the politicians, the people you elect, who have to close those loopholes. But you guys are too lazy to vote, so only the ultra capitalist boomers vote, and pro business politicians do nothing while you blame it on corporate lobbying. Maybe if more young people voted, society would be more equal.

[@JohnDoe-vw4zf]

@@masonrussell579 Are you stupid? Do you think that the record number of all age groups voting will change anything? Politicians don't sit in office for 60 years because "young people" aren't voting.

[@MinniNatty]

Ok, I’m not the only one who noticed. 🤣

[@Tebstechpodcast]

The tallest residential building in Africa kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3-zpWOQoJKnp68

[@khanfauji7]

Turning homes into investment tools that local and foreign investors can speculate in to hedge against inflation has been the biggest driver of unaffordable housing.

[@magnusanderson6681]

I mean, another large driver is the zoning laws and regulations which prevent housing from being created because of how much beaurocracy you have to go through in order to do it.

[@BuddhistZenDave]

Yes and no. What caused the 2008 meltdown was the market not being able to control house ownership. When Latisha in queens defaults on her 300k mortgage it creates a ripple affect against a x30 leverage security tied into that house. The next natural evolution was for the fed to just buy the mortgage to ensure they are always owned, because they want to ensure the stock market will continue to climb, securing boomer 401ks and pensions right as they retire in waves. So now they can control the market price action from top to bottom. Imagine every time you baked bread it got bought immediately, no matter how high you raised the price. You would be selling 50k a loaf by the end of the year.

[@allowambeBOWWAMB]

And who creates inflation? The central banks.

[@RiazMissaghi]

@@allowambeBOWWAMB Imagine if we had a sound, scarce, and easily secured money to store value in so that we didn't have to use houses, stocks or metals to protect our wealth from money printing.

[@allowambeBOWWAMB]

@@RiazMissaghi Bitcoin :)

[@e.pluribusunum7916]

This was incredibly depressing, but I'm glad you did it. It's horrifying how much we've sacrificed to make rich people even richer. The idea of paying 200 million dollars for an apartment you'll never use while people are literally dying in the streets because they can't afford shelter is insane. Edit: my post keeps getting a lot of comments blindly defending capitalism. If you don't understand why this practice is problematic you are quite literally part of the problem.

[@jerricklittle3306]

Hypocrite, you wrote this message from a device manufactured by the rich

[@andrewbergamann7982]

This needs to stop.

[@Falconlibrary]

Welcome to the last days of the empire. Enjoy the spectacle while it lasts.

[@BeyondDaX]

Only the rich can stop the rich.

[@jerricklittle3306]

@@BeyondDaX you make it sound like the rich are attacking you

[@blah7983]

More states need to pass laws that tax the hell out of unoccupied/not occupied by a longterm resident housing after a certain number of properties owned

[@TwoTreesStudio]

The best part is they actually give you tax breaks for leaving units empty in a lot of places.

[@jer3504]

"I want force to be used against smart people that have accumulated properties because I don't make good life choices" There I fixed it for you.

[@TARINunit9]

That part about "turning real estate into a more liquid asset" is subtly sickening. The ultimate goal is the financialization of EVERYTHING.

[@X11CHASE]

It already is that way.

[@jamess3718]

and there is NOTHING wrong with that, if you dont have money...to enjoy things that cost money...that YOUR OWN fucking fault change the way you live or fuck off your choice

[@Xantosdude]

@tmacbeatsonline "Why not turn the entire human experience into a casino?" It already is. Just some people don't realize, or don't want to play. Everybody gets the same amount, and the smart ones realize and capitalize.

[@marionboyani]

@@Xantosdude everybody gets the same amount? You mean someone born into generational wealth started off with as much as you did?

[@Xantosdude]

@@marionboyani Of course. everybody gets the same 86,400.

[@Martell364]

This reminds of an interesting article in the German constitution: "Property entails obligations." This means for example that you have to take care of your house, but also that you can't divert something from it's intended use. In some German cities, this means that you're not allowed to leave a home vacant for longer than 6 months without good reason, because having a home sit vacant, diverts it from it's intended use, which is housing people. I think legislation like this being commonplace would solve a lot of housing issues. Also, imho these billionaire's row tower are kinda ugly and don't fit into the New York skyline at all.

[@vperkv6554]

Sounds like we need tht in the U.S. but tht wont happen until we outlaw lobbying in general. If someone wants something, all they have do is pay to have laws changed.

[@aminam8760]

In france its even more extreme, people can break into unhabited homes and they cant be immediately expelled until a legal procedure is completed. They are called the "squatteurs"

[@clawsoon]

@@aminam8760 As I was watching I was wondering how hard these mostly-empty buildings would be to take over with a bit of determination and organization...

[@JuniperJennifer666]

That s a stupid law - how about vacation houses? U germans are not allowed those?

[@JuniperJennifer666]

@@aminam8760 about france ( the weidest country of them all ) - we had vacation house in the south of france for many years - everything was allright. We moved last year to live here permanently THREE times our electricity contract was cancelled by someone. Once it was in summer when we weren’t there - my son came there for vacation on friday evening and there was no electricity and for 2 days of weekend he had to stay without until i figured things on monday. Good we do not have a large garden, so our neighbours threw extra long extension cord for him to be able to exist because without electricity there is no hot water. Called them and they said some person who allegedly lives with us cancelled the contract. We live in separate own house. Bizarro country. They didnt send us any warning - just switched off. No explanations.

[@furyofbongos]

No issues with billionaires buying expensive thin tower apartments. I have BIG issues with companies like Blackrock buying up single family homes and renting them out, pricing out first time home buyers and destroying neighborhoods. They also treat their tenants worse than anyone.

[@hoherspatz9573]

The same forces that are buying up single homes in America are the same forces that are pricing New Yorkers outta the housing market today. BlackRock is an asset management firm after all and they mostly buy these houses on behalf on large institutional investors, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds that want to maximize their capital gains on these investments. As a consequence, more and more income has to be spent on overpriced healthcare, privatized infrastructure and inflated housing prices. So, you end up with a high-priced economy, that cannot compete with the likes of China or Europe, where basic necessities for economic activity like infrastructure are provided for free or at subsidized cost. America has moved from industrialization to financialization and its economy has become a tollbooth opportunity for wall street.

[@Trickyboy1337]

@@hoherspatz9573 "its economy has become a tollbooth"... what happens when we can't afford the next toll... ? Everything keeps going up, seemingly primarily if not solely due to private interests, with public works and government effort having little to do with it going up, and rather a lot to do with choosing not to make it go back down.

[@RawOlympia]

@@Trickyboy1337 Stop voting for those who open the floodgates, more peopel = less housing. Simple math. Democrats love chaos, or they would not be doing this. Cloward-Piven.

[@itsmatty365]

100% this

[@Jupiter1423]

someone who gets it

[@evergreenaviation3672]

In addition to the Plaza, Rissian Tea Room, and Carnagia Hall, Billionares' Row is also in close proximity to the New York Racquet & Tennis Club, a hot spot for upper-class new yorkers.

[@l.uke_]

What a treat a half hour B1M video is! Really like this style of doc with Fred out on the ground talking to the camera. Great stuff!

[@AbsolutelyRedundant]

👀

[@haizeabezala]

Definately. Simply great!

[@trainrover]

mass hypnosis must suit your sort......

[@ithirtmean]

right !!! i could watch hours of Fred talking about buildings and our beautiful cities🥺🥺😩

[@Mogamishu]

But do you have any comments about the contents of the video? Of course not. 🙄

[@rikvermeer1325]

Here in the Netherlands, "big" cities are starting to incorporate mandatory self-habitation laws on housing. This is needed to keep a sane distribution between social housing, open market and rentals. I like the idea

[@timdowney6721]

Also helps to reduce money laundering and tax evasion. Kudos to the Netherlands.

[@boraxsopanic2670]

Holland looks like old crap. They take good care of their old crap. :) I love it there but when I get the urge to see the 21st century I look elsewhere.

[@truthvigilante2180]

@@timdowney6721 tax extortion is theft

[@clintonflynn815]

@@truthvigilante2180 Uh, no.

[@truthvigilante2180]

@@clintonflynn815 there’s absolutely no other way around it

[@Mixima101]

I like that B1M gets into social issues of engineering. As an urban studies student with friends who are engineers, I think it's good that engineers are at least aware of the "why" of construction, not just the "how."

[@ricoparadiso]

✝️ *LORD JESUS DIED & ROSE AGAIN TO PAY THE DEBT OF UR SIN!* ✅By Faith in the sacrifice God has made are we saved from the penalty of sin! 🔵Turn from your sin that leads to death & accept His Gift that leads to eternal Life! 💜We are all sinners that need God. No one can say they are perfect to be able to pay their debt of sin. This is why only God could pay the penalty for us, that is merciful Love!

[@kiih7762]

bot

[@Aaron565]

bullshit

[@supertrampolinethebatpony3841]

Humanities informed interdisciplinary approach gang gang

[@gxlorp]

🎅🏿😁

[@madnax4594]

American Dream: Shiny & big from the outside, empty inside.

[@liam3284]

A hollow nation

[@Goat-on-a-Stick]

Pretty much like the billionaires themselves: overrated and empty inside.

[@jackhamrogue9708]

Haha true

[@erwin4501]

I'm so wealthy everything is free !, compliments of the interest, Happy Christmas x

[@ppumpkin3282]

Seems pretty empty and shallow to assume that because someone is rich, they are empty. But if you makes you feel good about yourself - do it.

[@angelgjr1999]

Like seriously. I love New York City because of the vibes and the interesting people that live there. I could care less about the financial district.

[@TylerSolvestri]

@@angelgjr1999 Lmao, I live in NY and people are plain thrash and you will never meet a rich person on the downtown otherwise you harass them. And you will end up on a 6ft tunnel under the soil if you do that lol

[@faicotone]

The same thing is happening in Bangkok and I can imagine many other big cities in the world. Communities and the locals are wiped out to make place for development projects of luxury condos and shopping centers. It's ridiculous how we have so many empty houses and homeless people at the same time.

[@justindavis6406]

This is why land should not be so liquid. The rich will get more and the poor will get even less.

[@voinekku]

Yep, that's because Thailand is capitalist just like the US, UK, Australia and pretty much everyone else.

[@maxdubs222]

@@justindavis6406 and that’s exactly what they want, they hate poor people we are puny ants to them that they just wanna squish

[@milesrout]

Nobody is forcing those people to live in one of the most expensive and desirable cities in the world.

[@justindavis6406]

@@milesrout you're right, they're not being forced to live there. They chose to live there long ago, and are now being forced to choose to live somewhere else.

[@TheLiamster]

I’m so happy that B1M released a video that’s over 20 minutes long, I missed not having a video last week.

[@N1ckelD1me]

fantastic video! i live in new york and i have such a morbid fascination with these empty ultra luxury apartments.

[@michaelmcdermott4385]

Usually I don't mind people bearing the fruits of capitalism and making a lot of money, but the sheer magnitude of wealth that we have seen in recent years and the exploitation used to get to that point makes me physically sick. Billionaires row seems like a giant gaudy monument to the sick underbelly of the U.S. economy and those who profit from it.

[@eye-leenlove]

Yup!!!! It’s the manifestation of cruelty and greed in its most pronounced form…it’s truly a goddamn shame!!! I’m a Native NYer - born and raised - and it saddens me to my core that those slender anorexic sky scrapers sit there up high and mock all of us real brave hearted souls who keep the city going! We, more than anyone else, deserve to see the city from the celestial skies!!! Yet we don’t even stare at them much because we gotta rush home to the Bronx….NYC! You’re better than this!!!!

[@TheExoGames]

In my humble opinion if the money they made are fair, and we all enjoying the fruits of their work, who cares how much money one person holds? never understood the logic of socialistic types.. we all benefit, where is the problem?

[@dungs11]

@@TheExoGames the problem is that often we experience no benefit from the fruits of their wealth.

[@Resi1ience]

@@dungs11 That's just about the size of it. Having one person bear much wealth is fine, but redistribution into the economy is absolutely minimal. Any dollar you own has absolutely not been touched by a billionaire before.

[@Dumpsterhuggies]

This isn't a problem with capitalism.

[@jordanmcgill5619]

This truly delivers what it promised. To build on the previous video on billionaires row, which celebrated the engineering feats was all well and good, but this delves deep into the socio-economic and political implications of what these developments represent. It takes a more considered, nuanced understanding of what our built environment means in the wider context, and I loved every minute. So visually stunning too! You've outdone yourselves, B1M team!

[@trainrover]

mass hypnosis must suit your sort......

[@akaviral5476]

@@trainrover "Think of the poor, oppressed billionaires! Waaahhh!"

[@matpk]

@@akaviral5476 nice hotel kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKG0d3aZiK5jprc

[@mikeoglen6848]

@@trainrover Explain your comment. This video was not about 'hypnosis'.

[@trainrover]

@@mikeoglen6848 ogling kleptoparasites' out-of-reach b.s. while GUARANTEEING that no study e v e r be conducted on any thing to do with, e.g., their origins...welcome to yer dead-end instruments hailing laughably impish Corporateria...explanatory enough for you, @Monk I Glee...?

[@EricHunt]

This is quite literally the best video you've produced. Thank you for expanding into and starting a conversation about the cultural and societal questions around large engineering projects.

[@hopegold883]

Except a little more research into NYC street names might have helped sound erudite to US residents. The letter is a direction. The final number is ordinal, not cardinal. “53W53”=“53 West Fifty-Third St.”

[@sigmalibra1360]

It’s pretty sad that these buildings are empty meanwhile some people live on the street!

[@scottkirby5016]

When tax and zoning regulations shape the engineering of the building being discussed it is not only appropriate for this channel to discuss but I would call it an obligation. It is as much of a factor in the construction as geology or materials science and thus B1M should never shy away from topics where germane. Keep up the good work.

[@shayan_idk]

very well said

[@WINTERBOYD]

The only reason Fred didn’t receive a interview with the developers or any of the owners is because they know who they are impacting by using the 421a. All the construction in the Bronx are in undesirable areas that need transportation, grocery stores and street cleaning like they have on park avenue

[@GORT70]

Question: how are the uber type transportation services there?

[@KawakebAstra]

@@GORT70 being a New Yorker. .answer 2Ur question is poor renters can barely afford subway .. traveling miles in slow city traffic via uber’s not affordable or practical

[@jeremymitchell76]

but but AOC speaks for you.

[@kbanghart]

@@jeremymitchell76 vote blue

[@jpdemer5]

The tax breaks are so huge that the city could build *more* affordable housing with the money not collected, than was built by the developers in the first place.

[@GoldenOwlEvents]

Melbourne, Australia too. Reportedly about 40 percent of the more expensive inner city high-rise apartments stand empty. It has been like this for many years. Meanwhile Australia is suffering an affordable housing crisis, made much worse now by the pandemic. People with full time jobs still can't find anywhere to rent. According to a recent study, the nearly half the population cannot afford about 90 percent of the housing in Australia. The wealth divide is now savage, and it's affecting the entire lifestyles of society. The most obvious change I've seen in the last 10 years is all the arts, entertainment, events, parties and festivals drying up and disappearing. All the people who used to run them are now in crisis and barely scraping by, as are many of the attendees who can no longer afford to go. This in turn fuels the loneliness epidemic, all these interconnected communities and groups of people who used to meet up and make new friends at these events are now finding it harder and harder to stay connected. The sense of community dries up. And the rates of anxiety, depression and deaths of despair start to climb. This is the domino effect of turning an essential part of life - having a home - into a profitable commodity with which to amass private wealth.

[@jenniferlawrence9473]

These skyscrapers ruined the New York City skyline. They look ridiculous.

[@RoccoTano91]

@@jenniferlawrence9473 I agree with you. Melboune's skyline has been slaughtered since 2013/2014 with a plunge of high-rise residential buildings that look like shit.

[@Deafscrafty7]

Oh no wonder. I have my family and friends living there now, they are frustrated with finding affordable housing they wanted to buy, settle, and start families.

[@ruby-bruja6923]

Empty homes but we have an unhoused people epidemic in the US. Not to mention that the apartments and homes that are "affordable" are literally falling apart at the seems. This is so disgusting.

[@petecabrina]

Don't worry it will all come crashing down soon, what is happening in China right now is just the start of it, of course companies and rich people in China probably own some of these empty apartments in Melbourne/Sydney as well, or might have even been the ones who constructed them. The only downside of the housing market crashing is the whole economy is probably going to go with it too.

[@zacktmedlin]

“The owner’s never been there, it’s just an asset in the sky” People are dying in the cold and we’re all just cool w this

[@capndallas4918]

Work harder and you could afford to live in these types of apartments. This younger generation want something for nothing.

[@PandaCake978]

​@capndallas4918 how do you sustain yourself by just licking boots? There is probably a lot of moisture there but mud and dirt doesn't have a lot of calories.

[@mrKingslay]

@@capndallas4918 you will NEVER afford living in there by «working hard», I assure you

[@liam3284]

They are built never to be lived in, and living there would probably be unpleasant.

[@martyneilan8947]

Sorry... but no matter how well educated and how hard the average person works, and how well they invest, they could never afford a 100 million dollar apartment. ​@@capndallas4918

[@M1tjakaramazov]

Same miscalculation happened in London a decade ago. Number 1 Knightsbridge was a mega project by the Candy brothers, looking to give billionaires the ultimate property to congregate in. What they didn't realize is the one thing billionaires value more than anything is exclusivity. Living in a block of flats with a bunch of other billionaires is the last thing they want; it makes it feel common. On any given evening half the towers are pitch black. Pretty incredible no-one thought of that.

[@HabitualLine-Stepper]

@Marcus Rotkirch That's only half right. It's mainly money laundering, parking cask, and not a place to live. An apartment is rarely going to be a billionaire's primary residence.

[@M1tjakaramazov]

@@HabitualLine-Stepper They still didn't set out to create a half-empty cash-park. Their underlying ideology for the project failed miserably.

[@blackleague212]

@@Channel17961 yaull are just mad cause you cant afford to be in NYC. This is a city of kings. Dont ever disrespect my city this is the capitol of EARTH.

[@RaBob]

it's a tax write off

[@walky240251]

@@blackleague212 man o man you´ve got a real problem with reality!

[@graygraybrady]

I’ve been in Central Park Tower visiting someone who was working for one of the apartment owners. As of early November, only 20 people are living in the tower. This is partly because behind the foyer, the construction isn’t fully finished. The apartments are (at least the one I visited) but the hallways and elevators are still covered in cardboard and plastic. Crazy!

[@prst99]

Makes sense. So the low occupancy can be attributed to incomplete construction rather than absent owners.

[@Sashazur]

@@prst99 But fewer owners also means less money available to complete construction.

[@MinhNguyen-nl8zz]

The building don’t have to be finished. The physical space is what being traded. Since no one is living in them finishing is not pressing. If you are not in a hurry you can wait out labor shortages, materials costs and regulator it’s cost.

[@alexc1800]

As someone who works in the commercial real estate industry with a focus on the zoning aspect of it all, this was amazing to watch. In my years of working in zoning, especially in NYC and the complexity, it is easy to see how it is so vital to know. The effects that zoning can have not only impact the affordable housing crisis in NYC, but across the US and the world. Can things change? Absolutely, but it takes a knowledge of these topics to make effective change. This channel has done a great job of showing this stuff and I can’t wait to see what is next!

[@kevinblackburn3198]

And exactly how will this change? Social engineering politicians already control NYC Town Hall and could have changed tax and zoning laws over night. But they didn't and they won't. Why is that? I mean Bill de Blasio was the for 8 years? Nothing changed except for higher crime and more taxes and regulation except on real estate. They want the same thing that we all want and what billionaires already have...a home in one of the super talls (except for me. Cities are great to visit but that's about it).

[@alexc1800]

@@kevinblackburn3198 I think the change that needs to happen needs to happen more with local voters than anything else. I can’t speak to the actions of the mayors of the NYC as I do not live in the city and never have. The tax code changes and out of my area of expertise. In my experience with zoning, changing a zoning code is not an easy process as a full overhaul can often take years to complete due to the complex nature. I think in order for change to occur, people have to have a will power to be a positive change, rather than sitting by and having the norm continue. Being involved in local zoning board decisions and hearings is a great way for someone to start to be involved and be a voice for change.

[@charlesxplosiveii6206]

I’m not speaking to you as much as I am speaking to your industry. The people who get the zoning laws changed or rezoned, the eminent domain, the acceptance of projects with our community review and so forth apart of the issues. But I will say the mayors community leaders and governors have everything to do with this. At some point we have to have a mayor and a governor who stands firm from the political bullying from the real estate industry. In the beginning of the Blasio mayor term low income and middle-class people were getting into Affordable Housing now it’s just upper middle class which leaves all of the vulnerable people right where they were. This happened because the developers wanted more money and higher rents on those few apartments that were designated for Affordable Housing. Nothing will change until the people rise up. A little bit of space in New York is mostly being used for the rich to keep building luxury. This is not sustainable and the city will fall at some point history shows you that you can’t have a society where you have all these rich people and everyone else is dirt poor in history all those societies failed.

[@wingssoar8544]

Hi are you sungle

[@coburnlowman]

I grew up in a smaller town in the South. There where big business owners who employed many people , the people who worked in mom n pop businesses. There wasn't many who were just poor , unless they didn't have drive under their asses. There was very few apartments, because most everyone owned a home. Most homes outside the city limits had a vegetable garden. Most worked 5 days 40 hour weeks. Most everyone had a boat , or a camper for weekends. My grandparents neighbor worked at the same grocery store his entire life , as did a lotta people worked the same job their entire life. Those people afforded a decent house on 40 hour weeks , with dependable vehicles, and every weekend they really relaxed. Now it's the opposite. The places where the nice houses were are now slums. Apartments are being built on top of each other. People are working full time jobs , plus side hustles , just to be able to make rent , and power.

[@stevenmatthews2278]

Such a frightening concept: billionaire housing sits empty while poor families struggle to afford basic necessities and subpar housing. The system is broken, the loopholes are being exploited, and the rich are living in a reality unthinkable to the rest of us.

[@KPCienega]

Sounds exactly like the conditions in Venezuela for the working class

[@bryanfarrow914]

@@KPCienega ........ if they get a U$ supported gummint. Send in more assassination squads.

[@nicmainville9954]

@@KPCienega will be the same in the US if people continue to allow corporations to buy out the federal government, thanks Regan.

[@BlackMan614]

Thank you Fed.

[@gabbar51ngh]

Thanks to welfare state in USA causing these problems along with one of the most progressive tax rates. As long as these things remain people will remain unable to afford basic necessities while government leech of more money in taxes than all the billionaires combined.

[@littlebee33]

it’s so frustrating that they keep building these “exclusive” homes and high rises, yet there’s a huge problem with homelessness as well. The US really has a problem with the wealth gap.

[@eppsislike]

It's not a problem, it's been there since the dawn of time. Unfair? maybe, but nature and life has always been indifferent and it will not change. They want you to think like this so that you will wallow in a perpetual state of sorrow - so that they can enjoy more luxury. You have every oppurtunity to reach that level of wealth. So go get it.

[@daryoushhaj-najafi9865]

@@eppsislike you must have missed the last 200 years, where people in rich countries fought for and won universal suffrage, equal wages for the sexes, free education, health care (outside the US), social housing (backpedaled since the 90s) and a bunch of other services. And people in poor countries at least were able to end colonization and limit resource theft.

[@CarbonTaxLOL]

@@eppsislike If someone starts their life with one million dollars, and inflation is 2.5% per year, and the stock markets prices are dependant on the "supply and demand" of the stock in question. Then no. I will answer the question for you. Not everybody can get "rich" for a number of factors. You are obviously American, so let me explain it to you on a kindergarten level. Drive through Idaho. Your welcome.

[@Iambunny-ry2os]

@@eppsislike and no not everyone has that opportunity to reach that level of wealth. Many people don’t have the opportunities many billionaires get like housing security food security and education which should be things we strive for as right. What else would we consider progress if not achieving and securing things that are investments into society?

[@littlebee33]

@@eppsislike Yes there has always been a problem between the rich and the wealthy throughout world history since advanced civilization began, but it is different now. There’s no reason why someone who works as a teacher should pay more taxes than billionaires like Jeff Besos. Also, so what if it’s an “ancient” problem. We have the knowledge and means to support others and fix the issue now. Why not change history?

[@ArtStoneUS]

My wife and I noticed while we were living in Charlotte North Carolina that the expensive condominium buildings in uptown seem to have very few people going in and out given the size of the buildings. We guessed at the time that a lot of the owners were motivated by flipping the condos, not by living there

[@Tina-mt9cl]

Quality of life in the city has plummeted to unlivable levels for most civilized folk. The higher end surrounding towns are paradise though.

[@mellow_man_ny]

The rich just live in NYC for fun and than they go to other cities where they have other properties and some buildings even have elevators that take you from your apt to the parking lot which sometimes they don't even use the regular entrances.

[@JUNKERS488]

No the super rich are moving along with their businesses thanks to all the Socalist Democrat Party. Why live where you have to pay so much in taxes when they can just move to a better state with lower taxes. Which also means all the jobs from the businesses they own will go with them. Just like California. Vote Blue to ruin your city too.

[@annamack5823]

Exactly the same thing happens in London.

[@littlelarry2912]

no one would really want to live in any large US city. Full of public housing and bums. Traffic, crime, etc.. make some money on real estate and stay clear of these dumps

[@Eloraurora]

That side comment about no glass on the mechanical floors gave me a vision of the maintenance people clipping in with carabiners so they don't blow away.

[@BrandonJXN2]

I've been a architecture nerd for as long as I can remember. I've been a member of skyscraperpage for almost 20 years. B1M is world class in terms of production, knowledge, as well as education. Love this channel truly.

[@buttonup3522]

So you would describe yourself as an architect? Professionally? Or perhaps would you say you’re an amateur?

[@Lawlzinator]

Yes, I've played sim city as well

[@SJRam95]

This was incredible, longer form content that wasn't padded with useless filler but instead all clear and valuable information. Thank you so much for producing this, love you guys, hoping for a lot more like this in the future!

[@Mogamishu]

But do you have any comments about the contents of the video and the topic being covered? I thought so.

[@johnames6430]

wrong, they should get to the point

[@matpk]

@@johnames6430 nice hotel kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKG0d3aZiK5jprc

[@mlc4495]

The production values of this video are off the charts. This isn't some mere KZbin video on some KZbin channel, this is television quality! Seriously, you guys should have your work on BBC, ITV, Sky, etc. Loved every minute of this. Amazing!

[@adithyaramachandran7427]

Here is the problem. The Mainstream media owners may be the ones who have investments there, and they won't publish anything that doesn't align with their views.

[@ButItsMonday]

Ik actually thought it was some sort of documentary, first time watching this channel. Amazing quality

[@Tebstechpodcast]

The tallest residential building in Africa kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3-zpWOQoJKnp68

[@Barrrt]

To me this was a lot better than TV. At least, most TV. The public channels in my country are really good but in the USA you don't have those because you consider it socialism. But it's the best stuff, and more importantly, it has a public responsibility and a conscience.

[@gateCodeKC]

yeah that's the main reason i have a youtube subscription. to incentivize the channels that i watch,

[@overtheedge23]

While living high above the city can offer spectacular views and a sense of exclusivity, it comes with a set of challenges that make it uncomfortable for many people. The combination of physical discomfort, psychological fears, safety concerns, environmental impacts, and practical inconveniences contribute to a sense of unease and discomfort associated with living at such extreme heights.

[@LDrosophila]

The swaying alone would keep me up

[@TabithaElkins]

Built in the 1930's, the Empire State Building was exhorbitantly expensive at the time and was almost totally empty during the years of the Great Depression. Eventually, the luster of renting there was worn down, the rents went down and businesses opened up. The same will happen to these buildings. When the owners get scared, they will convert the aparments to offices, just so they don't lose their shirts. NY is in a huge real estate bubble in the middle of a massive worldwide recession. The bubble will burst.

[@walky240251]

oh yes it will, he he he he he he !

[@nevillewran4083]

Would they be allowed to change domestic dwellings into offices? Apart from zoning laws, how would the service amenities keep up? The lifts, the water supply, power, garbage collection, the increased number of bathrooms needed.

[@joefatalooch8057]

They left NYC. And they wont return until the wokeness is gone.

[@nevillewran4083]

@@joefatalooch8057 Many were never _in_ NYC permanently, most were mega-rich who bought the apartments as investments or as an occasional stop-over accomodation. You could easily switch "wokeness" for any other gripe about the city- overflowing garbage, crime, noise, parking costs.

[@jonathanbowers8964]

​@@joefatalooch8057define "Woke"

[@hotbeefo]

Big props to Fred and the team for touching on more of the impacts of these buildings on everyday people, how politics affects it and doing some real journalism along the way. I especially enjoyed the juxtaposition between the estate agent and the writers interviews. It's great to have context on how these buildings come to exist and how they affect the place they are located.

[@troyarrington5492]

@Emi Eiko can you stop lol

[@muhammadbilal4078]

B1M has produced this documentary as never before. Just incredible.

[@JUNKERS488]

When those rich people leave so will their businesses which mean good bye jobs for the poor people.

[@justmestela]

New York is especially unique for its skyscrappers, and it is just crazy how the average rent price in there is high, and even higher for luxury apartments such as 220, One57, 111, 432 and more. The fact that the skinniest skyscrappers 111 has to raise the price crazily just to make all the construction effort worth is crazy, literally sky is the limit for the apartment rent in New York.

[@ooglefluffg857]

I really appreciate that this channel isn't afraid to deep dive and look at problems with developments and real estate instead of becoming a listicle hype machine for flashy buildings.

[@Meitti]

"Vacant building is a useless building" should be a cardinal rule for determining the worth of something. If theres no demand for a room simply because its too expensive for people to live in, then the price and perceived value is artificial and fake. So the longer a new millionaire mansion stays empty, less valuable it becomes until its either used for living, or working.

[@RampageG4mer]

Who do you think determines the worth of these buildings?

[@kdpowers]

It'll never happen in America. Even if someone is elected who promises it, they won't be able to do it.

[@TysonGibby]

The B1M does a great job or presenting the evidence as to why this problem exists without then drawing conclusion that it's the laws and government policies that created this tax shelter problem. If you get rid of the failing laws and government policies then these problems will no longer exist. This tax shelter would literally disappear overnight.

[@Meitti]

@@TysonGibby Not likely, China had the same problem and their real estate bubble finally burst with Evergrande. China was the worst of all, building entire ghost cities where nobody lived in, made of shoddy materials that make the houses collapse within few years, just for the sake of speculating with real estate markets.

[@TysonGibby]

@@Meitti That is a great example. The difference is that in China all the power lies with the government. Here, most of the power, is still held by the people. If New Yorkers really wanted this to change, they could make it change.

[@toni4729]

It's incredible that so very much is being asked for these apartments in New York while so many decent people can't find work there and are sleeping in the street now. It's heartbreaking.

[@copperfish543]

It’s pretty naive to thing that people that are drug addicted are looking for work? What planet are you from. They are entitled bottom feeders that will suck the lifeblood out of you, only if you allow it. The poor in America are not classically poor. They made the conscience decision to be that way.

[@toni4729]

@@copperfish543 Just like you made the classical decision to be totally ignorant. You couldn't be blamed for your parents but what makes you think they're at fault for losing their jobs. There are now millions of them living in their cars and on the streets in America because there simply is no place for them to live. NO PROPERTY FOR THEM TO RENT.

[@ravenna9969]

Let me guess they should move in and dirty it up like they do the ghettos ?

[@jlatoo]

@@ravenna9969 yep

[@kattaplez721]

@@copperfish543 bro what the fuck? how are you real - you're talking like poor people are a different species, the hell is wrong with you?

[@Aaronsl-202]

I think it’s wonderful how when there isn’t enough housing for everyone, billionaires can buy housing to not live there. Thank God someone’s there to keep real estate out of the hands of people who need it!

[@PadChennington]

a half an hour B1M video is the perfect gift to close out the year.. amazing work as always dude ✌

[@lefouduroi9980]

We need more of those. Don't get me wrong, I like the shorter format too, but it can not offer this level of depth.

[@lefouduroi9980]

@@criollitoification Oh, without a doubt. Like I said, a mix of both is fine with me and I understand the underlying reasons for it. Just more long exposures like this would be greatly appreciated!

[@lefouduroi9980]

@@criollitoification Times have change. We have yet to see the long-term effects of this. But fear not, I am also guilty of this to some extent, so I am not judging.

[@kiih7762]

bot

[@endoflevelboss]

What's "closing out the year" ?

[@PhantomFilmAustralia]

The real estate market is reflecting fiscal wealth. Billionaires monopolizing real estate on properties they never live in, mirrors the money they hold that they will never spend. Brilliant video. Informative and engrossing on so many levels.

[@drod0886]

at least with them building properties its creating a ton of engineering and construction jobs as oppose to just having money sitting in an account but things do need to change quick

[@rehoboth_farm]

I suppose your answer is to steal all of their money and give it to people like you. I mean it's obvious to me that YOU could use it much better. I mean, just look what you have done with what you have. I'm shocked that people aren't banging on your door trying to shove big fat wads of cash into your jockey shorts. Or maybe just give it all to the government because they haven't ever wasted billions of dollars on worthless sh*t that nobody asked for and doesn't want.

[@RT710.]

@@rehoboth_farm or maybe just use the wealth to provide food and shelter for the citizens

[@rehoboth_farm]

@@RT710. I suppose that YOU would like to be in charge of that. So who should we steal from and who should we give to chief? It isn't like people are going to donate their homes and wealth. Make sure to bring your rifle. You may even want to put a bullet in it. Not that you have the balls to use it but I think you'll be more convincing when you're telling people to get the F*ck out of their home because the revolution has come. I guess we could just move a bunch of homeless people into some of those luxury high rise apartments. Let's go round up some heroin junkies and head uptown! Try to find the ones that have sh*t running down the back of their legs. Yeah, the ones that are mumbling about Pokemon are probably the most deserving. No, don't give them money out of YOUR wallet. We'll give them money out of some rich person's wallet after we beat them up and take their coat. Are you going to pay their electric bills? Water? How about the maintenance on the building? I'm sure that should all be free too. We'll make the people at the electric company and water company work for free. Remember that rifle. Or perhaps we could just sell them off... To rich people? I know! We'll confiscate them and give them to some important government Commissar. That's what they ended up doing when the Bolsheviks took over. That was MUCH better. F*ck it! Just blow them up and then EVERYBODY will be happy. You ever try to eat a luxury apartment? It tastes about like $100 bills but a little bit grittier. It's a hell of a lot tastier than a credit card though and a lot more filling than a mouth full of bitcoin. No, it isn't because we are all stupid and "haven't thought of that" it's because we have and then considered the consequences.

[@RT710.]

@@rehoboth_farm I can see you have very strong emotions about class and wealth. I can certainly relate to that! I’m absolutely not suggesting that I, or any individual, control the worlds resources. I’m simply suggesting that humans with their technology work to produce food and shelter for *use* instead of profit. When the basic necessities of life are turned into products to be sold for profit- inevitably homelessness and starvation will occur. I don’t believe that has to happen, but it does happen because there are rich oligarchs who use governments to enforce their dominance. I’m a worker just the same as those you mention. I just want my work to benefit mankind instead of enriching a careless corporation or government. No need for rifles or violence, just helping our sister’s and brothers survive and thrive.

[@deusexaethera]

Imagine being so rich that you own a penthouse -- the ultimate luxury manifestation of a basic human need that not everyone has -- which you've never been in, which you bought from someone else who had also never been in it, just to say you have it -- not even as a vacation home, just as a trophy. Now the concept of NFTs starts to make more sense to me. These people were _already_ buying things they didn't care about just for the bragging rights of saying they have them; NFTs were just the next step in the evolution of that concept, by dispensing with the need to buy a physical object and just buying the bragging rights _directly._

[@AbeYousef]

NFTs are also taking money laundering to the next level

[@David-un4cs]

That's actually the best explanation of NFTs I've seen yet. It finally made the idea click for me.

[@deusexaethera]

@@David-un4cs: It's literally just spending money to buy a receipt that proves you could afford to spend that much money.

[@OppositeOpinion]

and this is freaking disgusting! unregulated capitalism is worse then terrorism or fascism

[@blackhorseman]

Like that 80's movie "Brewster's Millions" with Richard Pryor you can only spend so much until you get fed up sick of having it after even one month. That was the point the movie was trying to make but most people never got that part of the plot. You have to get to the point of painstakingly trying to find creative ways to even store it in any form possible that much wealth let along spend it. Drug cartels had the same problem. Where to put it all. It is utterly disgusting that even then they are trying to find ways to evade taxes and other wealth burden. Greed is "CLEARLY" an addiction just like every thing else in this world that turns you into a slave to "you know who". Tsk tsk! I honestly don't envy them. I personally would be miserable just like the prospect of living forever as a saved Christian. There is only so much of a good thing that I could tolerate. Unfortunately most human beings seek it to insanity and then death. Then the next generation of their children start it all over again before his/her body even gets cold bickering and sometimes killing each other over the scraps. Like I said- " it is an insane addiction" of the highest order on earth that if we don't break free from it it will destroy us all super rich or super poor. It is all the same because profit isn't even real. It is completely all smoke and mirrors. Try asking most people today where money comes from, it is usually deer in the headlights stumbling to answer the question just like understanding "Derivatives" even if your in the financial sector. That is the point here too. Its because it all is only an idea that we bring to life out of thin air. Satans design; and we never fail to disappoint to fall for it time and time again. Free choice is either a blessing or a curse. The choice is yours.

[@LordPunnet08]

The personality shines through and keeps viewers coming back.

[@mikeciul8599]

Wow, Ryan Serhant is either really brave for agreeing to speak to you, or really clueless about how he sounds! Either way, I'm grateful that he did.

[@ClemensAlive]

2100: 1 Skyscraper 1,800 m high 0,5 m wide = 1 Appartment

[@reformCopyright]

With one hell of a tuned mass damper!

[@kientrungmai5598]

Sounds like something out of sims city lol

[@joshuasantiagojr5082]

Gotta take an elevator before you shit.

[@Victor-tl4dk]

At that point the apartment would be the elevator and maybe some balconies...- not even the elevator... Just a ladder 🪜 and balconies

[@danielyates9055]

Just a vaccume tube you slide up and down

[@ManCatCheese]

the sad thing is that this kind of wealth inequality has occurred so many times throughout history and it always ends up turning into violence because lawmakers don't actually enact changes the wider population wants. History is cyclical and i'm worried that shit will hit the fan in my lifetime.

[@SP-rx4tb]

Wealth inequality is nothing evil if done correctly. Inequality in gains makes those that don’t have strive for it it is a catalyst or at least that want has made some very successful ppl who’ve helped others - I am not for everyone having the same thing or hand outs to ppl that feel like they deserve it like they are owed something for no effort but am for helping others.

[@ManCatCheese]

@@SP-rx4tb The issues begin when not everyone has the same opportunities for wealth advancement. If everyone started off at the same level then I wouldn't have any problems with wealth accumulation as it would be based purely on the ability of the person. But most rich people are second or third generation rich, which makes it easier for them to get richer, while people who have been in poorer families will likely stay that way unless they're extremely talented or lucky.

[@Tebstechpodcast]

The tallest residential building in Africa kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3-zpWOQoJKnp68

[@Randomyoutuber-4831]

@@ManCatCheese fun fact: every ‘self made’ billionaire in America came from a wealthy family; - Bill Gates’ mom was friends with the chairman of the board of IBM and convinced them to take a chance on her son’s new company. - Jeff Bezos received $300k in investment money from family and even more from friends to start Amazon. - Warren Buffet was the son of a governor who had an investment company - Elon Musk’s father owned an emerald mine in South Africa. The only reason any of them were so successful was because they never had to face any of the obstacles the working class had to face.

[@analyticalhabitrails9857]

Same.

[@moejuggler6033]

Your videos never disappoint! This may have been the best work. Thanks~

[@MrMakeDo]

This is what happens when society values wealth creation above all. The built landscape is no longer a place to live but a place to keep money.

[@EK63315]

As a Torontonian who has been seeing this vacancy phenomenon unfold in real-time, this video did a better job of explaining it than I ever could. Really a quality deep-dive into a harrowing aspect of real estate that seems to go missed by many. Great work!

[@mrdouglasbaker]

In Toronto a lot of it is Chinese investment they want to have a safe house to go to when the shit hits the fan and you’ll see UFT students end up buying a house or a condo and then driving a Ferrari please tell me how a university student can afford a four bedroom house in Toronto and a Range Rover.

[@AN-bs3hh]

@@mrdouglasbaker The answer is pretty obvious that it's their parents who bought all those things. Some people are born rich and some are not. But instead of being jealous, it gave me motivation and drive to work harder and smarter to success. Just sitting there and complain isn't going to take you anywhere in life.

[@mickeyrosa7226]

@@AN-bs3hh Don't brag, it's crass!

[@imalrockme]

@@AN-bs3hh He's not being jealous, he's just acknowledging that those students are not exactly residents, they were just given a passport, bought by mommy and daddy, after using Canada as a repository for their money. If it was based on hardwork, you would be driving a Ferrari, right now.

[@howdyahworkthisthing1520]

Yup. “Foreign investors” priced me right out of the city that I grew up in, with their money laundering.

[@egocd]

Fred, this video was sick. Loved this. Your production quality far exceeds a lot of stuff on TV. Keep it up!

[@ticksunbs4944]

He do be looking good

[@trainrover]

mass hypnosis must suit your sort......

[@nidefawl2552]

Insanely good video. This was super informative

[@thorsvenson3530]

Ryan Serhart is a salesman, not an expert on economics. More or less every comment he made on the subject was somewhere between nonsense and wrong. But as a salesman, he says all the right things to sell to rich people.

[@ranulfdoswell]

The comment about London property is so true. I was renting a room in a shared house right next to Hyde Park for a year. In our group of about 12 houses, only 4 were occupied, and that was just one side of a square with a shared private garden, the houses on the opposite side were bigger and externally more attractive than ours. Checking the prices online, these houses on our side were selling for over £4m in 2017 and the other side for £8 in 2017, but I couldn't find a record of recent sales, so despite them all being empty nobody seems in a rush to sell or move in. The location was amazing, less than a minute walk to Hyde Park, less than 10 minutes walk to Oxford Street and about 20 minutes walk to Regent Street, a beautiful shared private garden (residents had a key to the gate), private off-road and gated parking and yet almost none of the owners chose to live there, and ours was seemingly the only one which was being rented out as a shared residence. Even that was looking unlikely to continue, as I heard after we moved out the landlord was trying to sell it to an overseas investor.

[@David-ud9ju]

Probably because someone does own them and is happy to keep them.

[@Jonathan_Doe_]

@@crystalawen gift homeless people lock picking sets then.

[@doms6741]

Isn't it expensive to live there?

[@BobHannent]

The reason many of them may not have a record of sale is if the building is owned by a shell company. It's not uncommon for expensive properties to be owned by a company and the company gets sold not the property itself.

[@ranulfdoswell]

@@doms6741 I guess compared to a lot of areas in London, yes. But because I could walk into work in Central London, I hardly ever needed to use the tube, it wasn't that much more expensive than living further away. And I had a pleasant walk each day instead of being squashed onto a train, and could run or walk in Hyde Park with basically zero effort, so I think it was worth it. Until lockdown meant I didn't have to go to the office any more, and then it seemed expensive.

[@WarrenVeljanovski]

Like many others have said, I love the direction this channel is going in, incorporating more of a social conscience - this was a great, very fair analysis.

[@arabcadabra8863]

I don't know it it is the way this channel is going or if the way the world is going just cannot be ignored any more.

[@Tebstechpodcast]

The tallest residential building in Africa kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3-zpWOQoJKnp68

[@manumaster1990]

yep!

[@ForceField9]

@@arabcadabra8863 How exactly are the rich preventing anyone from starting a business?

[@arabcadabra8863]

​@@ForceField9 I never made that claim. Are you sure you replied to the correct comment? If you actually want to know, though, please look up the terms: regulatory capture, monopoly, and kickback to start.

[@carolitoffana]

Watching this video right after watching a documentary about Kowloon Walled City hits hard

[@scottgates4979]

I used to work for a high end Tax Attorney. He had mostly retired from it, but he still did some consulting. Some of his clients were some of the richest individuals and corporations of the 1960s and 70s. He was a very sweet man, BTW. He liked to say he was "Scrupulously Honest within the Law" but he fully admitted that "The Law is CROOKED". A very WISE man, also.

[@GeorgeMonet]

Is the law crooked or are the people crooked?

[@scottgates4979]

@@GeorgeMonet the law is written so that people who have money to take advantage of the law can skip paying taxes. Like moving profit to countries where the tax is lower and reporting losses in countries where they would have had to pay more tax.

[@humanresources3545]

This story is similar to that of London - buildings are investments; not residences. This sort of construction was blessed by the local councils (better rates) who gave a nod to the established council flats being torn down and the inhabitants moved away from having jobs.

[@bogdanconstantin5911]

Ah yes, the notorious Heygate in Elephant & Castle

[@MrCmon113]

They can only be an investment if you think that someone eventually wants to live in them.

[@humanresources3545]

@@MrCmon113 Wrong. Their price keeps going up. If there are people in them then the price doesn't go up as much.

[@larrysmith6797]

How is this in any way similar to low-mid income rentals in Nowhere, England torn down and replaced by mid-income homes?

[@patrickanthony3632]

@@humanresources3545 So what if the price keeps going up but you cannot sell them?!

[@CarriageTownLocal]

I feel those protestors. I live in a central apartment complex in my city and my rent/lease renewal has been raised 70% in just one year due to demand and gentrification. It does feel like an eviction. Needless to say, I am unable to renew.

[@iZipTiedMyPenisToABrick]

You can't force landlords to keep the rent where it is It's their land Also keep in mind the reasons behind them raising the rent

[@Death_is_Beauty]

@@iZipTiedMyPenisToABrick i understand rent being subject to change i.e. it being raised, but anything above 10% every 12 months is fucking BS. There is a massive rent spike across the US, and I just got hit too. Living in an apartment in the suburbs about 15 miles outside the city my rent just got increased by 50%, from $1,090 up to $1,580. The land value didn’t increase, no big business setup their HQ in town, so why the 50% increase in rent…?

[@slimkermie2666]

@@Death_is_Beauty 1) Inflation, 2) increased demand for housing from investors and individuals/families who have/had access to cheap loans 3) increased expenses for many landlords who had to keep paying taxes while many tenants didn't pay their rent during the pandemic. I feel your pain - my payments have increased, too - but we're here because the people we voted for have mismanaged our economy for the past 50 years to benefit themselves and others who can take advantage of it. This is precisely why we need term limits for our representatives and senators.

[@DM-sd1fg]

@@iZipTiedMyPenisToABrick i work for a very large landlord and his reasons for increasing the rent by an exorbitant amount is nothing but pure greed and ruthlessness.

[@DieAlteistwiederda]

I already know that once I move out of my current apartment the prize will rise by about 25% without anything being done to it. Absolutely ridiculous in my opinion.

[@michaelpilos]

Best Documentary You made so far! 👌🏼

[@AnyoneCanSee]

I live in Edinburgh and they were talking about forcing the owners of empty buildings to rent them, sell them or the government will take them. In the comments on the story, it was split 50/50, a lot of people felt if you own the building you can do what you want. I left a comment saying that property is different to other possessions. There is only so much land and it should be used, indeed must be used for people to live in. So I supported it.

[@ethanlamoureux5306]

There is no need for most people to own property in places like New York City, where the land is absurdly overused. If someone already owns land in some place like that, don’t be jealous of them, and don’t hire a bunch of thugs to take land in such a place away from its lawful owner. Instead, find your own land to own. The world is a big place.

[@AnyoneCanSee]

@@ethanlamoureux5306 - People have to live somewhere. Within the city limits, there are only so many properties and they should be utilised for people to live in. If you are letting a building fall apart and not living in it or fixing it up to rent it out then I believe the government should pay its value and the property should be utilised. Either that or simply bring in a massive tax on empty buildings. Equally, there should be very high tax and secondary homes within major cities. It has zero to do with jealously. I own my own property in Edinburgh thank you. We have green belts in the UK so there is only room for so many houses in the city and they should be used. That should be the law. Land is an old coat that you can leave unworn it needs to be utilised for a city to thrive and if you are not living in it or renting it then it should be made available to others. "The world is a big place" what a truly idiotic comment. So a nurse working in Edinburgh should live in Zimbabwe when all the property is gone, should she? Land is a finite resource especially in a country like the UK and ownership comes with a responsibility to the city and state. Personally, I'd ban all foreign ownership of property in the UK and land would be for those that live and work in the UK. It's absurd that 100s of thousands of homes are owned by people that don't live in the country are not citizens and don't pay tax here.

[@JohnSmith-ty2he]

@@AnyoneCanSee Then move. The US is a huge country of mostly unused land. I live in the countryside myself and land here can be bought for as low as $500 per acre, and an older 3 bedroom 1,600 sqfoot home can be found for $80,000. Too much focus is on the cities where you absolutely do not have to live. I own 45 acres of land and 2 story 3,200 sq foot 4 bedroom with a 3 car garage and it's valued around $190,000. It's not like services are even an issue in this day and age. Even out here we have gigabit internet.

[@myselfandeye3884]

@@JohnSmith-ty2he Ah the simple answer of the simpleton. Funny thing is that these ultra-rich are buying these lands, you claim are plenty of, in masses as, you guessed it, investment opportunities.

[@Liz-sc3np]

This kind of land ownership (land property as investment) is just modern day feudalism.

[@marc-antoinepaquin1884]

You guys took risks with this one. Different format, a different aspect of a subject you already covered, several interviews for the same video, we finally get to see Fred's face... and the result is great. Good job!! But the end of the video also asks a question. How can we improve housing affordability? It would be an interesting subject for a video in 2022.

[@cTc10691]

This is by far not the first face reveal from Fred 🤔🤔

[@Jordan-tq2jc]

@@Geezerelli Great comment. Very few people understand this reality, deregulate as much as possible and home prices will become more affordable… they will still rise over time due to the Fed promoting the injection of excessive liquidity into the system. But deregulation will help tremendously.

[@DeJaVu337]

Mandate a 35% vs. the current 20% ratio to affordable housing based on 30% of annual average base salaries of workers. Must build within a 6 mile radius of the luxury complex. Average NYC worker salary is $28,340, therefore rent can not exceed $7,085 annually for 50% of the rentals. Apartments must represent 20% on each floor.

[@-A-c]

Cheapest and least complicated way I can think of is to stop depriving every new generation of simple financial education. I was never taught about assets, liquidity, and all the other fancy terms that would enable me to turn a small amount of money into enough money to make work a choice rather than a necessity. Not until my late thirties anyway…..and I consider myself one of the lucky ones. It may sound kind of abstract, but ignorance among the masses allowed abominations like Billionaires Row to come into existence. If everyone knew how to make their money work for them, knew how to protect themselves from getting fleeced by these shortsighted loopholes, we of course would not be having these issues. We would probably be seeing these apartments occupied as well (if I may be so bold to suggest….). And of course it’s not too late. Knowledge TRULY is Power.

[@RawOlympia]

One quick act would be to close the borders, too many people coming in, not enough housing. It is crushing our nation.

[@jamesslate1026]

The Netherlands, and specifically Amsterdam, is one of the few global cities where condo owners are required to live in their units, so as to discourage investment buying. That said, there are no supertall luxury high-rises in Amsterdam. The biggest problem for New Yorkers is that investment buying drives up the price for everyone who actually lives in New York. The average rental price for a 1-bedroom apartment in Manhattan will now go for at least $4k/month, which puts the housing market beyond the reach of most New Yorkers. The adage that you can charge as much as the market will bear is true for Billionaire's Row. No one is really interested in developing affordable housing in New York. During the Bloomberg years, there were a few micro apartment developments built in neighbourhoods such as Gramercy Park, where the rental prices for 25 sqm units run about $3k/month, which is still not affordable for many New Yorkers. If nothing else, the pandemic proved that staffers could work remotely, and freed from the necessity of commuting to a Midtown office, a mass exodus from New York has only just begun.

[@FJB2020]

They really need to bulldoze that shitty into the Hudson..

[@gordonlevittsmith]

this is all very intersting.

[@blairfamily9685]

You make valid points. Thank you for sharing your perspective.

[@sucktitles]

I think that's in Amsterdam only. In the rest of our country both rent and housing prices are going nuts. :(

[@smartalek180]

I've read -- but I don't know if this is true (thrilled if someone can post links proving me all right, all wrong, or anything in between -- happy however, so long as I know) -- that there r some Euro cities where u r not mandated to maintain occupancy, but there r other incentives: in some cases, supposedly tax rates &/or fees that rise w/amt of vacant time; in other cases, ostensibly "squatter laws" that allow random ppl to just move into empty spaces, and, once established there, to be able to legally remain. If I had dictatorial powers, I'd go further still: I'd make leaving residential spaces vacant long-term a criminal act. Hording of empty space is a distortion of the free market r-wingers claim to respect, but of course don't rly.

[@jocelynsmyth6604]

So, I am aware that I'm poor and ignorant with money, but I feel that if you buy a property anywhere, you should have to stay in it a certain amount of time out of the year, and that you should pay someone to maintain it

[@mikipav1064]

No matter the reasons, it’s always sad when so much housing stays empty while people are freezing in the streets without a home. People in New York shouldn’t be asking themselves why those housings are empty… they should be asking on how to put a stop to this bullshit buildings popping out of the ground.

[@nadiamariko]

yes. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@adriennerobinson1180]

Sad but True SMH It is no Joke at all.Ugh

[@bainbridgeomega]

I'm on the side of the rich here. Got a pretty damn good job working in one of those buildings and that's not stopping anytime soon

[@mikipav1064]

@@bainbridgeomega So just because you got a good job because of these buildings, you just ignore all the social and economical problems these buildings bring with them? Just because you got this job, you’re on the side of the rich that don’t even use those apartments while so many people are struggling finding affordable spaces? Wow, congrats, your morals and beliefs are very easy to buy.

[@bainbridgeomega]

@@mikipav1064 if you live in New York city, you gotta take every opportunity you can to survive. And YES when I'm given a sum of $50,000 collectively by the residents every Christmas, you damn Skippy im gonna side with them. If many of us had the knowledge and drive to make as much money as the rich, you would side with them as well..its became many come from a mindset of lacking money is when they side with the poor and homeless. Well screw that noise, I don't want that kind of mindset. In fact, I'm upset that NYC doesn't crack down more of these homeless people. Their minds are gone, which makes them very dangerous. Crimes get committed. We need to put a stop to that quickly

[@T-Rex642]

The real estate guy trying to justify the tax breaks that billionaires get at the expense of the city was utterly reprehensible.

[@mbak7801]

He was incredibly repulsive. In the US tax is super, super low. Where I live some parents have children that spend the first 6 years of their life in and out of hospital, very stressful but at least the cost would be $0.00. Sometimes not living in the US can be a blessing.

[@David-ud9ju]

Yeah, I know, that was laughable. He sort of has to though to be fair to him.

[@hhamk3656]

I think that dude was on a real estate show on Bravo TV back then…..He definitely has made a lot of money from these rich folks who buy second homes 😭

[@TitoBobbyPh]

but the returns of these big companies in terms of job creation and economy is higher than their taxes

[@BDAShadow1]

Couldn't even believe the way he started talking about it.

[@paytongaskin809]

The tax break makes all of this more infuriating to me. It's very obvious where the interests of policy makers lie when the general public can access the info of how little they pay. It becomes quite obvious that these are used a fiscal assets (rather than utility) when you see virtual tours of the apartments themselves. If you have the kind of cash to be able to rent or own these, you are definitely not living here full time. By billionaire standards, these homes are far from their ideal comfort living.

[@octopusmagnificens]

Taxes are theft.

[@jaythemachine3845]

Taxes in general are bad especially how high they are now. Not to mention how are money is spent.

[@evannibbe9375]

@@octopusmagnificens Not really. Would you prefer to use up a vast amount of your personal time (remember, your personal time is money) standing on your property with a gun to shoot trespassers during a period of anarchy? I find that spending a smaller amount of money in taxes on a court system and police force willing to defend my property is a much more efficient way to defend my property.

[@ryanshaw4250]

decade after decade of one party rule in NYC has done this.. fighting for the people means billionaires have negative tax rates and the working poor have the vast majority taken.

[@bestrad2300]

Fun fact: billionaires can afford not to pay taxes.

[@VallartaOffroad]

Wall Street and property developers are two of the most "generous" political donors, not only in NY; maybe it's not surprising they manage to get laws passed in their favour to the detriment of everyone else. Another great video

[@AmiranBokhua]

I am astounded by the level of creativity and artistic ways you exposed stupidity and unsustaiability of thus cohort Fred Mills and team! Huge thanks for altering your attitude!

[@BassoonGoon4Lyfe]

The amount of tax breaks given to the ultra rich is insane let alone all the loopholes they can just take advantage of; yeah they’re there and the and technically anyone can take advantage of them but 90% of people wouldn’t have enough money to take advantage of them in the first place.

[@kerbalairforce8802]

There are tax incentives for starting a business. There are tax incentives for failing a starter business. There a incentives for business expenses. Go start a business.

[@blackwater7183]

@@astralblue I think he's talking about the loopholes like the one's discussed in this short documentary.

[@blackwater7183]

@@kerbalairforce8802 That's a catch 22. Takes money to make money. Middle class don't have that sweet sweet safety net now do they?

[@blackwater7183]

@@astralblue "in response to your response to Kerbal, you can easily open a business and file for an LLC or an SCorp if you have a partner, for a couple hundred and use that business's line of credit to buy the things needed to start and run the business." That's just a part of the story. Everbody can start a business yes it is easy, however, it IS also gamble even if you THINK you have a million dollar idea. If it doesn't work out the rich can just abandon the business and start another one and try their luck again, rinse and repeat, hence, "the rich getting richer"(ever play monopoly? 🤣). Again "it takes money to make money", it's just as simple as that. The rich have excess cash they can gamble on while the middle class has to take out loans and pray to Jesus everything will turn out ok. If you are the bread winner of a family of 5 there is no way in hell you would abandon your 9-5 job and live on credit, that's how people end up losing their house, wife and kids. Let's be real. Lmao!

[@BifMcAwesome]

It's not so much about the taxes and the tax code as much as it is about the price of the politicians who write those tax codes.

[@s.g.445]

That Serhant guy was almost giddy talking about how screwed the middle and lower class are.

[@Mulifhedzi]

His an asshole. Brushing against billionaires will turn you into that. You start feeling like you are a billionaire yourself. I wish luck turns against him.