NYC approves apartment building with separate entrance for poor people

[bedstuy]

What's the problem?

If it's a doorman building, the entrance is an amenity paid for by the renters paying the market rate.  It costs money to pay a doorman and if you're not paying market rate, why should you get a doorman?  The service providing by a doorman is a nice amenity, but it's certainly not the type of thing that the city should necessarily subsidize for affordable housing tenants.

[bedstuy]

What's the problem?

If it's a doorman building, the entrance is an amenity paid for by the renters paying the market rate.  It costs money to pay a doorman and if you're not paying market rate, why should you get a doorman?  The service providing by a doorman is a nice amenity, but it's certainly not the type of thing that the city should necessarily subsidize for affordable housing tenants.

This is true on narrow legal grounds, but not only doesn't honestly address the core optics problem with the building described in the OP, but is sufficiently tone-deaf as to possibly make it worse.

That's New York City buddy.  We have the necessary obnoxiousness that comes with rubbing elbows.  Is it really worse to have a building with separate entrances than it is to have two buildings, one for only poor people and one for only rich people?  Elsewhere in the country you have rich people in gated neighborhoods. 

This just comes down to the fact that a doorman is an expensive luxury service.

[bedstuy]

A bit off topic, but I have a sincere question. In other parts of the country, are gates only for rich people? Here, many neighborhoods are gated, especially apt complexes. Not all by any means, but plenty of these apartments are super ghetto places in scummy neighborhoods. From the tone of this thread, one would think only nice, or even middle class residences were gated.

I think that's mostly a issue of parking.  You can't park your bad in a bad neighborhood overnight unless you have a gate or some sort of security.

[bedstuy]

Badger, lots of little convenienves we all take for granted are hard to come by in NYC, and especially in Manhattan. Consider forgoing a washer and dryer in your home, convenient parking, central air conditioning, fresh air and personal space. I get that New York exudes energy and that appeals to some people, but living there has got to be the biggest damn hassle ever. The doorman is just the tip of the iceberg.

The parking issue is neither here nor there because you don't need a car.  And, some people do have convenient parking.  I think public housing parking is $20 per year.  And, I don't have a washer or dryer, it's not a big issue.  It's actually nice in a way because I never do laundry. 

Essentially, you're lamenting that New Yorker don't get to participate in chores.  Getting your oil changed, mowing your lawn, doing tons of laundry, fixing things up around your house, sitting in traffic, adjusting the acid level in your backyard pool, shovelling snow...  Those are chores. I'm glad we get to largely avoid those chores.

The general point of space and air is valid.  However, I think many Americans have just become accustomed to a giant home.  You don't need 800 sq ft of space per person.  Living in more modest lifestyle in terms of space and material possessions isn't the end of the world.  Ultimately, material possessions are worthless and the only valuable thing is your life experience.