On Friday night, two men died in a fire in a Brooklyn rowhouse that city officials say was an improvised boardinghouse – deaths that followed three similar tragedies in the Bronx last month. On Sunday, the city announced a crackdown on illegal hotels – one of which reportedly had 44 people living in a three-family home.
It is, of course, critical to enforce the current laws when homes can become deathtraps. But let’s be clear: The problem New York faces is bigger than that. With a wide range of immigrants, almost 50% of the adult population single, an economy that is still struggling to recover and others desperately seeking affordable housing, we need to recognize reality and reshape the housing laws we have…
