The Village Voice – Is New York City Home to a Technopolis? Or a Tech Bubble?

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“New York is “pre-gentrified,” says Douglas Rushkoff, a media theorist and author of Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus. He says the growing number of deep-pocketed tech workers in the city contrasts with their emergence in San Francisco.

“The untethering of rents from ordinary wages in NYC began under Bloomberg. The tech bubble just accelerates the trend. Apartments had already shifted from residences to an asset class. Once real residents were in competition with real estate speculators and investors parking capital, there was no hope of maintaining a livable city.”

The good news, says Rushkoff, is that this era will pass.

“Most of these companies’ profits are based in advertising or big data, and we know those industries are unsustainable. But these buildings will be reused for other purposes someday, just as Google uses the factory floors of the Chelsea Piers for YouTube today.”