Climate protesters block FDR Drive in rush hour
demonstrations, leading to 33 arrests
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Climate change activists snarled the
Monday morning commute on the
FDR Drive and West Side Highway,
sending a message that the drivers they
blocked could not ignore.
Extinction Rebellion organized the action,
which occurred at about 8:45 a.m.
on Oct. 25 along both major arteries on
the east and west sides of the island, along
with advocacy groups Sunrise NYC, Extinction
Rebellion NYC, Jews for Economic
and Racial Justice, and Fridays for Future
NYC. The organizations reported that at
least 33 of their members were arrested in
the two-hour protest, though the NYPD
did not provide an offi cial number.
“We are interrupting traffi c this morning
not to annoy you, but to force the public
to confront the true dangers of unchecked
climate change,” Extinction Rebellion
tweeted in a post directed at the drivers
they impacted Monday morning. “If we
do not act today, if @potus does not act
today, NYC will be underwater by 2100.
It’s a matter of life and death.”
Protesters spread out across the northbound
lanes of the FDR Drive, about a
Drivers survey the protest on the FDR Drive.
half-mile south of Exit 5 (East Houston
Street) in the East Village. Some of the
demonstrators shackled themselves together
as they laid on the roadbed, using
complex metal devices to make it more
diffi cult for police to break them apart.
Nevertheless, a number of police offi cers
arrived on the scene to take the protesters
away. Offi cers resorted to using saws to cut
the shackled protesters free, and take them
into custody.
Other activists simultaneously blocked
PHOTO BY ADRIAN CHILDRESS
off traffi c on the northbound lanes of the
West Side Highway near West 34th Street,
with a line of demonstrators holding up a
banner reading “Biden Keep Your Promise,”
and chanting “Shut it down!” while
stuck drivers blared their horns.
The protesters on both roadways want
President Joe Biden to hold to campaign
promises to invest in green infrastructure,
cut emissions in half by 2030, and turn
back the tide against climate change — lest
rising sea levels eventually put parts of New
York and other coastal cities under water
by the end of this century.
“We regret that we had to delay commuters’
workdays this morning,” said Veekas
Ashoka, a spokesperson from Sunrise
NYC. “Unfortunately, Joe Biden has left us
no choice but to sacrifi ce our own personal
safety in order to protect our collective
future. Our disruption of traffi c on two
major highways is only temporary, unlike
the destruction climate-related disasters
will wreak upon our city without bold and
urgent climate action. If Biden continues
to compromise with fossil fuel interests,
heat waves and hurricanes will make no
compromise with the people of New York.
But if he chooses the principled position
and delivers on his campaign promises, he
can help prevent the next deadly heat wave
or Hurricane Sandy.”
Biden and Congress are in the midst of
negotiating a new spending package that
drew heavy opposition from two moderate
Senators: Krysten Sinema of Arizona and
Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Both saw
the initial price tag of $3.5 trillion as being
too high.
Not all drivers saw the protest in the
same light.
Manhattan areas see rent cuts in third quarter of 2021
BY VILDANA KHAMDULLINA
New York is trying to get back to
what it used to be before the COVID
19 pandemic in terms of real
estate. But according to a recent StreetEasy
Market Report, in the third quarter of 2021
lots of neighborhoods still have great deals
and the median asking rent is still about
$100 less than it used to be.
Manhattan is considered the most expensive
borough to rent an apartment, but
compared to two years ago there is still
some difference. Gramercy Park has a $599
difference in Q3 2021 Median rent than Q3
2019. Greenwich Village still has a difference
of $270. The Median Asking Rent in
2019 in Little Italy used to be $3,300 —
now it is $2,850. The Lower East Side does
not have a big differential; it appeared to be
just $68 and West Harlem is still $200 less
now than it was before Pandemic.
In spite of this, there were still places in
the city which increased in prices, the highest
“jump” appeared to be in the Financial
District. The rise came up to $634. Flatiron
now asks for rent more by $494.
Senior Communications Specialist
Emily McDonald mentioned in the report
that Brooklyn “has been hot all year” which
means that even now prices are lower, but
it won’t stay this way for a long time and
data has shown that some neighborhoods
already have a median price higher than it
was before. Such as Downtown Brooklyn
with a difference of $224; Greenpoint $100
and Williamsburg $85.
Best deals in Brooklyn would be in
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Boerum Hill with a difference of $538 and
Cobble Hill with $525. Brooklyn Heights
is still cheaper now by $289. And both
Bay Ridge and Prospect Heights have a
differential of $150.
Queens always had very affordable rentals.
The only neighborhood which already
has prices higher than pre-pandemic times
is Long Island City with a median of $70.
The biggest gap in price is in Ridgewood
right now which came to $199. Right after
one of the most famous neighborhoods of
Queens, Astoria with a difference of $132.
The least expensive neighborhood on the
list is Elmhurst which still has lowered its
price by $122, in Q3 2019, Median Rent
was $1,975 and now it is $1,853. And both
Jackson Heights and Sunnyside are cheaper
by a hundred dollars.
It is in benefi t for landlords to use the
market recovery and some already try to
raise their rent when they can. But NYC
still has a huge variety of affordable living.
Even now multiple listings on StreetEasy
are listed lower than they used to be in
2019 or earlier years.
The prices have gone down in New York
and now demand for living space is very
high which leads the real estate market
back up. StreetEasy economist Nancy Wu
said “… with the demand we’re currently
seeing, renters should always assume there
is someone else vying for the same apartment.
Use all the tools at your disposal to
your advantage during the rental search to
help save you time and money.”
To read the full report, visit streeteasy.
com.
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