New York's Housing Plight

The New York Sun reports:

Taylor Hicks, the 2006 American Idol, will be appearing at the restored St. George Theatre on Staten Island this summer, and Wayne Newton, Air Supply, and others are scheduled for the fall. Just about every square yard on Staten Island's North is scheduled for development into townhouses and luxury condominiums. Gentrification of the area is in full swing and the question arises, "Where will the poor people go?"

The honest answer from many New Yorkers would be " Who cares?"

But as the gulf between the rich and the working class widens, the lack of affordable housing is rightly perceived as a major cause. As developers build more expensive dwellings, the city seems to be ceding them valuable land in working class neighborhoods. More and more, I hear murmurs from residents contemplating leaving the city for other states, places where housing and taxes do not sap their entire paycheck. Those who have the luxury of transferable jobs have already vacated the city for more reasonable environs.

You'll notice that Houston doesn't have this problem.