Comment by reactordev

I know, I’m joking about the tv series having anything to do with it. In reality, it’s because NYC is a city that never sleeps, financial markets call home, immigrants land there, it’s a city of opportunity and the rents reflect that. It’s been going up and up since 1900s.

My tongue in cheek joke was because most of the audience here doesn’t really know NYC history (they should, it’s fascinating) and doesn’t understand that a young quant hedge fund person has no problems paying $10k/mo in rent for a shoebox they’ll never be in. Just to have the NYC address, to be able to work within NYC. Any sane person would look towards Staten Island or Jersey, but even then the rent prices along the transit lines are double what’s available further out.

But I could be wrong and all the history buffs will rebuke me with facts about how commissioners in the 50s did this or that, or that some policy in the 70s created it.