

NYC Hacker Collective: Revenge of the Nerds - fleaflicker
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/nyregion/thecity/28tink.html

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randomwalker
I'm seeing signs that hackers are making some progress in getting our word
back. Am I imagining it or have others noticed it too? ESR tried to do it in
the last decade by beating it over people's heads; the "shut up, build cool
stuff and let people find out" approach seems to be working a whole lot
better.

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bprater
“People think hacker means a criminal,” said Devon Jones, a 33-year-old member
of the collective who was slumped on a ratty couch drinking a beer. “Well, we
want our word back.”

Me too!

~~~
andreyf
I haven't met a person who thought hacker meant criminal in 5 years now...

~~~
dmix
Really? I still frequently find myself explaining to people what a web
application is.

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cowmoo
FYI, for those of you guys who are located in the greater Boston area, check
out the South End Technology Center (<http://www.tech-center-
enlightentcity.tv/>). Like the NYC outfit, they have a Fab Lab with laser
cutters/drill bits/circuit making machinery and open-access hours to public
for anyone who's interested.

Also, if you are in D.C, check out HacDC, a hacker collective in D.C.
(<http://hacdc.org/>). I've never been, but read about them in 2600. They seem
pretty cool.

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KevBurnsJr
It seems to me rather romantic to be considered a hacker in all senses,
turning mushy concepts into cold hard code with criminal efficiency.

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gourneau
Hey someone is drinking a Club Mate the hacker drink of choice!
<http://tr.im/2qa5>

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time_management
If rents come down in New York quickly, this city will have no problem
becoming the #3 or #4 startup hub. Banks and hedge funds are pushing out a lot
of talented hackers who chased the money, did boring subordinate stuff for
three years during the Wall Street boom, and now want to get themselves into
something interesting.

Of course, we're talking about reason and efficiency with regard to New York
residential issues, so the aforementioned "if" is a big one. If landlords are
short-sighted and greedy enough to keep rents high while accepting a vacancy
rate, the talent will flush out of here before New York has the opportunity to
establish itself as a tech hub... and then it's only a matter of time before
we're back in the '70s.

~~~
Prrometheus
If they drop rent, couldn't they get stuck there because of rent control laws?
I'm not sure exactly how the law works, but I know that landlords don't have a
lot of flexibility in NYC.

~~~
time_management
Rent-stabilized buildings would be affected. Rent-control is a different beast
altogether.

Rent-stabilized means that an apartment's rent can't increase faster than the
rate of inflation, plus a certain margin (1-2% per year, I believe). The
purpose of this is to remove the volatility in rents that causes urban centers
to rot. When rents are volatile, it's bad for residential infrastructure on
both the up and down swings. When rents are high, as in 2007 New York,
landlords don't need to do shit to move properties, so they let them decline.
When rents are low, there's no point in improving the housing. This is why a
lot of urban centers crumbled in the 1950s.

Rent control was instituted in the 1940s to prevent GIs from coming back to
unaffordable rents. For rent-controlled (unlike rent-stabilized) apartments,
the landlord cannot raise the rent at all (meaning he takes a loss equal to
the rate of inflation).

Rent stabilization is a good thing and should be extended. Rent control was a
huge mistake and should probably be abolished.

One thing that happens in non-RS buildings in New York (the new-construction
"luxury" buildings) is that landlords routinely hit tenants with 10-20% rent
increases, regardless of the direction of the market. The reason for this is
that they know people hate moving, especially in New York where most people
don't have cars, and Wall Streeters are ( _were_ ) getting 25-50% raises each
year, so they would take the pain.

If rents are decreased on a rent-stabilized building, I don't think it's easy
to bring them back up, but this is probably better than carrying a vacancy.

I've heard that RC goes out the window if there's a 5% vacancy rate, but that
could be an urban myth. It's getting close to that point right now.

