There's a lot of other reasons stuff is expensive in NY. Europe is heavily unionized and somehow they still manage to build subways at a lot less than $1 billion per mile.
This a perfect example of grass being greener on the other side of the fence ;) In some European countries I know of, unions are solely responsible for forcing the government hands into things like keeping around and subsidising beyond any sense and belief a dirty energy sources (coal mines and power plants for example) resulting in air quality killing more people than car accidents every year. Those unions won't stop at anything and are ready to and have in past organising violent riots on streets, until everyone around surrenders to their demands.
