Bunch of NIMBY, panhandling idiots… please step aside so that progress can happen…
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The group is asking Google to come to the table to help with, among other things, affordable housing, and legal representation for those who might lose their homes because of rising prices.
With newGoogle campus, home owners and landlords will make big money. Thus, they are welcoming google.
However, many low-income tenants will be priced-out. Thus, they protest.
Who is selfish NIMBY here?
I don’t think those protesters fall into the category of typical NIMBY. What they are asking is affordable housing (ie housing development).
Personally, I don’t like people to accuse others as NIMBY here and there all the time.
Often, those accusers are developers and investors who are also only interested in making big money out of such accusation.
On the other hand, NIMBY argument from low income families (who are priced out from where they used to live) sounds compelling to me. However, I hardly hear NIMBY arguments from them.
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Why is it Google’s job to build affordable housing in the area? Why is it Google’s job to hire lawyers for these people?
This is the exact mob mentality and entitlement issue the founders tried to prevent by only allowing tax payers to vote. Now any mob can get organized and demand concessions. That’s not how America was designed to work. People didn’t move here with the promise of free social programs.
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At least with the MV site, Google has offered or did provide a fair amount towards lower income housing. Yet, it is never enough for the masses…
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It’s never enough. A foundation tried to start a computer science program at one of the BA school districts with primarily students from lower income families. They were going to provide a laptop and iPad to everyone in the program, because it was geared towards learning to develop apps. The school district said that wasn’t good enough. They had to provide all students with a laptop and iPad, so everyone is equal. Between that and a bunch of other ridiculous demands the program was never implemented. Some students missed out on a great opportunity, because everyone wasn’t going to get free stuff.
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I see a lot of it Redwood City. Complaints about too much traffic, too much development, same people who are complaining about the rents going up too much. Happens on both the Facebook feed and Nextdoor.
Now, I do think there are valid complaints–the new housing developments are low quality (no green space, little thought to community areas from what i’ve heard), and the traffic is genuinely worse than before.
Of course valid complaints. Why would I be paying $4-$5k of rent to be around people who pay less than $1k of rent? What is wanted is those people stay far away and come here to work via excellent public transport.
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???
That’s not at all what anyone is saying. RWC is a significantly blue collar and immigrant community and people care greatly for those demographics. Many of the people complaining are that demographic. Your comment was rather hurtful.
The complaint is that housing that has been added “for the tech workers” near downtown doesn’t match the crowd they claim they’re making it for. Not enough parking, no green space whatsoever–no trees, no grass, no BBQ, no park, no balcony. The expectation is that people will live close to downtown and walk downtown and hang out downtown, but the housing is unattractive and it’s doubtful Techies would even consider renting there. People are upset that developers are installing housing without any concern for improving the beauty and livability of the city.
If that argument was true, then the housing would have a high vacancy rate. What’s the vacancy rate in most BA cities? San Jose is 3.6% vs. a national average of 12.4%. I think it’s more accurate that people are upset they can’t afford the housing they think they deserve. They blame the developers for that.
Every housing bear on Redfin started out as a potential buyer. After being outbid multiple times, they realized they couldn’t afford the home they thought they deserved. I say deserved because they would brag about their down payment, credit score, income, etc. They couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact there were plenty of other buyers more qualified than them, because they thought they were special. That led them to the conclusion the market was over valued or a bubble. In their mind, it wasn’t possible that other people could comfortably afford homes that they wanted but couldn’t afford.
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