What Makes Manhattan Cost So Much

What Makes Manhattan Cost So Much - NYTimes.com

(Excerpt)
The council collects price data from 307 urban areas. It found that for the first three quarters of 2012, the after-tax cost for a professional/managerial standard of living in Manhattan was 225.4 percent of that for the nation. That made Manhattan once again the most expensive place to live. In second place was Brooklyn (178.6 percent of the national average), followed by Honolulu (167 percent), San Francisco (163.4 percent) and San Jose, Calif. (153.4 percent).

Parks Re-evaluating After Losing Memberships to Fee Increase

Parks Re-evaluating After Losing Memberships to Fee Increase - NYTimes.com

(Excerpt)
Under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the city has made fighting obesity and improving public health one of its top priorities.
But pricing decisions by the parks department resulted in a 45 percent drop in paid memberships at its recreation centers, essentially city-run health clubs where New Yorkers who cannot afford memberships at expensive gyms, can work out. In an effort to raise revenue, the department doubled its annual fees a year and a half ago, to $150 for recreation centers with pools, and $100 for those without.