Submitted by Barry Popik, Oct 26, 2007 13:49

Tyler Cowen is wise. We were teenage chess friends in the 1970s. He was clearly a genius as a kid, but the Star Trek stuff bothered me. If you see him, check his ears. It's logical.

"Manhattan needs more construction and rent control must end" is a fitting mantra to end a column, should you choose to use it. I remember buying my sister's co-op apartment on East 57th Street, just after the stock market crash 20 years ago. This building (on one of the world's richest streets) was rent stabilized. The people who had government-guaranteed good deals didn't buy their apartments, but they were not poor and mostly had second homes. My co-op's sponsor declared bankruptcy soon after the co-op filing, the Attorney General's Real Estate Financing Bureau didn't return my calls or help in any way, the bankrupt co-op sponsor still owned 51% of the apartments for many years, and no certified financial statements came my way. For ten years of my life, I lived in daily fear that I'd lose my home--all because of rent control/rent stabilization for people with second homes.

Two years ago, when I ran for Manhattan Borough President, the mantra was "affordable housing." I had to shake my head. Did anyone realize the insane government policies that made them unaffordable? Does anyone realize that the number of apartments under this program is actually increasing? The New York Sun has run some stories recently about selling off public housing, and that's an important first step that deserves to be looked at.

I now live in Austin, in the beautiful Texas hill country. Apartment-building here is booming, with Californians moving here in droves to escape high property taxes, state personal income taxes, fires, floods, etc. You can buy a large house here for the price of a NYC studio apartment. Check it out over some great BBQ and hill country wine, but don't tell anybody or we're going to have more traffic problems.

So take Tyler Cowen with a grain of salt, go your own way, don't be afraid to speak the truth, and, in closing: "Manhattan needs more construction and rent control must end."

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