Yes, “Condos Fizzle While Homelessness Burns” would have made a better Nero reference, and it’s what I suggested originally, but character counts are a harsh mistress. In any case, read on about how New York is facing a simultaneous housing glut and housing shortage:

To see one of the dilemmas facing New York in the post-Wall Street economy, just turn on “Top Chef.” When the gourmet gang gets sloshed between challenges, the balcony they’re lounging on belongs to 20 Bayard Street in Greenpoint: one of many apartment towers that have sprung up around McCarren Park to sell overpriced condos to wannabe hipsters — only to see the housing boom go bust, making a temporary rental to chefs look like a good deal.

If construction cranes marked the New York of the ’00s, vacant luxury buildings could be emblematic of the ’10s… [read more]