All very true. He also kind of makes the point of 'why do we need all this immigration' when the working class we have is being displaced and made homeless ... although he never gets there - LOL.
I liked the "no one stays in one place anymore!" complaint. Well, sure I have new neighbors, but they have kids, and will probably move elsewhere in a few years.
I suppose we all work for 1 company and rely on our pension fund for retirement, too, in is world.
But, I suppose that goes with his "things change, and I HATE IT! Why can't we have dirt and crime like in the good ol' days?" Made you feel alive when you went out and came home with being bombed, mugged or knifed on the subway! Now, it's safe and plain and boring with all these nice people around who pay an arm and a leg for their property, and want to make it a nice place to live.
SO, basically, NYC is starting to feel the same distance from neighbors, the internal focus of suburbia, and a loss of "Main Street" businesses to corporate owned entities and chain shopping strips and malls like they (well, Wall street) pushed on the rest of America, starting 30+ years ago.
WAAAH.
Bill Bryson covered this loss in 'flyover country' in both Lost Continent and, to a lesser extent, A Walk in the Woods. This was back in late 80's, early to mid 90's.
Thanks for posting. Although I think the author has a bit of the "well, in MY day!" attitude, and a bit of a Luddite streak in terms of "progress" or "change", they do have one point that I think resonates in the whole country - that new housing construction is invariably geared toward the rich (in one Midwestern city where I have a builder friend - a single $650,000 4500 sq ft McMansion will bring more profit than an entire street of $100k 3 bedroom houses.) And in public construction, the thought is based on consolidation - get as much into the area as they can - one large building over many small ones.