At the turn of the twentieth century, Jewish immigrants began inhabiting the Borough Park and Williamsburg neighborhoods. Pretty soon, the large Jewish families outgrew the small cottages that were built in the late 1800s by the former occupants. The
newcomers proceeded to demolish the old abodes and build bigger, more accommodating dwellings. However, with the time, the population multiplied immensely requiring the construction of more housing. Therefore, in 1992, the Building Department passed a law that extended the zoning rights in Brooklyn to sixty-five percent of the property, decreasing backyard space. With these laws in place, and with a tremendous public demand many building complexes and condominiums were constructed, nearly eliminating all private houses and drastically increasing real estate prices. Thus, people are now living in smaller, more expensive, single floor flats with less privacy.
Due to the increasing housing situations in the Brooklyn neighborhoods, people must make decisions and find other locations to inhabit. Moving out to more suburban districts allows one to have larger houses with much more living space. Such homes are usually accompanied by spacious backyards, with large outdoors for children to enjoy. Moreover, the acreage in rural towns and villages far exceed the property dimensions attainable in the cities. In addition, when comparing the values of homes on Zillow – an online real estate database company – suburban homes are more affordable. To illustrate, an average home in the Borough Park neighborhood is marketed at 160 percent more than the typical home in Lakewood, New Jersey, when considering the square footage. The monetary savings in the suburbs are also greater since there are no city income tax and lower sales tax rates. It is therefore imperative for people to take into consideration, while making moving decisions, the larger and more comfortable suburban houses and the cheaper living expenses.