

Does Gentrification Cause a Reduction in Laundromats? - dodders
http://iquantny.tumblr.com/post/109370229799/does-gentrification-cause-a-reduction-in

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apendleton
I'd be curious to see this replicated in other cities. I sort of suspect that
there are cultural norms specific to New York at work here. For one, space is
at a premium in a way that isn't really true elsewhere in the US, even in
expensive neighborhoods, in a way that disincents owning your own washing
machine.

Also, the wash and fold is a huge thing in New York, and lots of people use
them. DC, where I live, probably has a few, but most people don't live near
one, and I've never used one. For New Yorkers, by contrast, there's a
different cultural expectation where paying someone to fold your clothes is
much more accepted.

Those things together, I think, make laundromats in New York more likely to
appeal to non-lower-class people there than elsewhere, and at least
anecdotally, lots of laundromats here have closed as neighborhoods have
gentrified, and at least a couple of now-affluent neighborhoods I can think of
don't have any anymore.

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zombrano
_" The only borough with a reasonable negative correlation between income and
laundromat density is Staten Island with a moderate correlation of -0.44:"_

Couldn't it be argued then, that population density acts like an agent against
the depletion of infrastructure for the poor?

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domoarevil
Well, sure.

And bodega's, pawn shops, Western Union and check cashing establishments...

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cauterized
Even the affluent need laundromats.

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refurb
I guess it would depend on the income level change that accompanies
gentrification.

If incomes move from "low" to "middle", I don't think you'd see much of a
change in laundromat density. In places like SF and NYC, if you don't have a
W/D in your home, a "middle" income isn't going to give you enough cash to get
one (most of the time it's a space constraint).

If incomes move from "low" to "high", then yes I could see an effect since if
you have enough money, you can do the sometime-needed major renovations to add
a laundry room to your home.

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cauterized
The plumbing systems in a lot of older buildings in NYC (including $3 million
brownstones) can't handle washing machines.

~~~
ars
This is a myth. There is no special plumbing required for a washing machine.

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nakedrobot2
Laundromats are a strange thing... only the USA.... all the other "lower and
middle class people with limited floor space" in the world seem to have their
own washing machines. Why is that?

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akgerber
My guess would be that the American washing machine market matured during the
era when apartment living was seen as low-class, and thus the market
concentrates on big machines for the big suburban houses that everyone who
could afford a laundry machine lived in.

Likewise, the big American laundry machine risked overflow and drew a lot of
water and power that a lot of old buildings couldn't handle, so landlords
banned them. Nowadays, even though laundry machines have evolved so that there
are models that use less water and power and overflow less, the housing
situation in cities like NYC and SF is so competitive that landlords don't
really need to adjust their policies to get the tenants they want. And our
minimum wage is very low, so labor-intensive services like laundry are
relatively cheap for middle class urbanites to outsource.

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henrikschroder
> the housing situation in cities like NYC and SF is so competitive that
> landlords don't really need to adjust their policies to get the tenants they
> want

This bothers me to no end, I'm continually amazed that the standard of
apartments in SF is so very, very crappy. You're charging several thousand
dollars per month, yet the stove and the fridge and the in-apt washing machine
is either 20 years old or the cheapest shit you can buy. And since the market
is the way it is where most people don't care about these things, this is what
you get. :-/

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otterley
Rent control bears much of the blame for this. Landlords subject to rent
control are discouraged from keeping their tenants happy with updated
appliances, frequent maintenance, etc., because the only way they can re-price
their units at market rent is if the current tenant vacates the unit. Poor
upkeep, on the other hand, will encourage tenants to vacate.

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serve_yay
In my experience it certainly does. And it's annoying as hell if you live in a
place without a washer & dryer.

