Housing

Boulevard and Morningside Park on the east and west—say that construction has exploded in the past five to 10 years. Buildings once condemned are now high-end residences. The new neighbors are, for the most part, white and wealthier than the long-rooted residents, who tend to be poor and black.

The Abyssinian Baptist Church on 138th Street has a distinguished record of prizes and partnerships, but its economic offshoot, the Abyssinian Development Corporation, has elicited tenant disputes—now more than 10 years in the making—that cause some to doubt the company’s fidelity to the community.

While City Council Speaker Christine Quinn may have been speaking in jest when she said during her State of the City address that “if we don’t do something soon, public toilets ... may well be the only new housing available to the average working family,” the implication was quite clear—the state of city housing has reached a critical point.

Discussions about the state of housing for the School of General Studies students came to a climax at a University Senate Housing Committee hearing on Friday.

The University Senate will hear about the housing concerns of School of General Studies students and graduate students at a hearing on Friday. Several GS students have admitted to living in Butler Library for short periods of time while unable to find other accommodations, and many feel they are denied services to which other undergraduates are entitled.

In the midst of a citywide housing crisis, a notorious Harlem landlord has put 22 buildings on W. 109th Street up for sale. According to the listing on real estate information provider Eastern Consolidate’s Web site, Pinnacle is seeking a single buyer for the group of buildings, and “only offers for the entire portfolio are being considered at this time.”

Like it or not, Greek Life is here to stay at Columbia. Despite many of the misconceptions and stereotypes that exist about fraternities and sororities, the truth is that the effect of our organizations at this University has largely been positive. Phi Gamma Delta has received full recognition from both our international organization as well as from the IGC, but we still find ourselves at a disadvantage to other fraternities on campus simply because we lack physical space to call our own.

The University affords excellent housing options, but because housing dictates the quality of life for many students, the period from early March to mid-April is a source of considerable stress.

Due to a shortage of University housing allotted to Greek groups, three organizations do not currently have chapter residences—and won’t for the foreseeable future­—a situation that they say puts them in a bind during rush season.

If you have ever been in Butler Library at four in the morning and seen students curled up between two chairs, there is a chance they were not there simply to study—they might be living there.