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Millions of people want to live in NYC and would productively contribute to the city if it were more affordable.

The government should not criminalize development that would make housing more affordable over your preference on shadows!

It's a negative externality, yes, but it's a trivial one next to the upside of cheaper housing for more people!

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At one end of the extreme unlimitedly cheap housing leads to slums, ghettos, and crime. Such housing is not worth building because it costs the city more in reputation and police force. Take a look at Kowloon walled city for an example of cheap construction without regulations.

So there has to be a line. Different people just draw the line differently. For me the issue on shadows is that these fancy buildings make the streets next to them dark and ghetto-like.

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