Editorial Op-ed
The burden of heavy debt
Before COVID-19 hit New York in
March 2020, so many college graduates
were already having a diffi cult time
making ends meet because of their massive
monthly student loan payments.
But after the pandemic struck and caused
all kinds of new economic calamity, the federal
government gave these graduates and others
across America. All student loan payments were
suspended indefi nitely, lifting one less burden
off the backs of millions of people struggling to
make ends meet.
The pandemic pause on student loan payments
has been extended several times since the
spring of 2020, but it’s set to expire on Feb. 1,
2022. When that happens, the great forbearance
ends — and all of these borrowers must resume
paying hundreds of dollars a month to pay off
their student loans.
For New York borrowers, that’s a huge
chunk of their income — an average of $393
per month. Statewide, more than 2.4 million
residents owe $91.6 billion in student loan debt.
By comparison, that’s just $11.2 billion less than
the entire New York City budget for the current
fi scal year, which is $102.8 billion.
Extract the COVID-19 pandemic and the
recent troubling infl ation hitting the country,
and the student loan debt in New York by itself
is a substantial economic problem. How do we
solve it?
Some want the Biden administration to wave
a magic wand and cancel the debt entirely. That
would give millions of people new buying power
to reinvest in their needs and the economy,
rather than just spending their hard-earned
money on debt payments.
Yet merely cancelling student debt doesn’t
solve the longer-term problem of reducing the
costs of a higher education, nor does it guarantee
that future generations of students won’t fall into
the hole themselves when they borrow to go to
college.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
wants the Biden Administration to extend the
pandemic pause beyond Feb. 1. That would be
good short-term news for debtors, but it only
kicks the can down the road further.
The federal government and individual states
must fi nd a way to tackle the student debt crisis
jointly. Through a combination of debt forgiveness
and cost-control measures, a solution can
be found to make a college education attainable
for every American without driving them, or
institutions of higher learning, into massive debt.
Let’s lift the burden of heavy debt off an
entire generation of Americans, while ensuring
the viability of college education for generations
Publisher of The Villager, Villager Express, Chelsea Now,
Downtown Express and Manhattan Express
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Politics took over rezoning
of the Blood Center
BY BILL ANGELOS
Since the City Council passed the rezoning
of the New York Blood Center
and the area around it, many stories
have been coming out making false allegations
that the local community is against
the Blood Center. But believe it or not, it’s
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Council Member
Rafael Salamanca who are against NYBC’s
expansion.
Having lived next to the Blood Center
for over 20 years, I was shocked to hear
that they wanted to rezone their property,
along with ours, to such extraordinary
heights. Don’t get me wrong: NYBC has
every right to do what they believe is best
for their institution so they can grow and
continue their mission. I, along with many
other members of the community, have
said from the beginning that they can and
should build a brand-new state-of-the-art
facility as-of-right. Doing so would allow
them to signifi cantly increase the size of
their facility.
There are many reasons why this tower
should not be built. Information can be
found on the Facebook groupEastsiders
for Responsible Zoning. Not only were
our concerns about the project ignored,
but it came out that Mayor Bill de Blasio is
offering the Blood Center and their private
developer partner, Longfellow Real Estate,
$100 million in property tax breaks to push
Council members to support the rezoning.
Additional tax incentives the city is offering
amount to over $450 million. Not only that,
but once rezoned, Blood Center/Longfellow
can decide not to build anything at
all and the property can be sold to a new
developer, who can build whatever they
want – residential or commercial – without
RENDERING COURTESY NEW YORK BLOOD CENTER
anything to do with life sciences.
Why don’t they build the tower in
Council Member Salamanca’s district?As
Chair of the Land Use Committee, he has
considerable sway in the land use process
as well as siting of new projects and could
have pushed for it. He could bring great
jobs to his community, support local businesses,
and expand the life science sector as
Mayor de Blasio wants. In fact, his district
already has an existing life sciences sector
and the tower can be built as high as it
was originally proposed in the beginning
of the process.
My work as a staff attorney with Brooklyn
Legal Services Corporation A focuses
on assisting people in all fi ve boroughs.
Along with other staff attorneys, we advocate
against landlords trying to evict
tenants – many of whom are Councilman
Salamanca’s residents and small businesses.
I can tell you fi rsthand that his district
needs this economic growth. So why, as he
puts it, pushed for it in a community that
he himself has pointed out does not want
it, or need it?
The solution is simple: NYBC builds asof
right in its current locationand builds its
tower in Councilman Salamanca’s district
along with its $450 million in tax breaks
and incentives. The wealth is then spread
out over different boroughs, as it should be.
Instead of listening to residents and the
council member who represents the area,
there’s no doubt that politics and big money
have played a large part in how this process
played out, where infl uential special interests
took hold of the process and unfortunately,
won.
Bill Angelos Esq. is Board President of
301 East 66th Street and Co-Founder of
Eastsiders for Responsible Zoning.
8 DDeecceembbeerr 99,, 22002211 Schneps Mediia
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