I just read many people are leaving New York but besides COVID I feel the city is fairly recession proof (as is DC which is where I have another property but it hasn't really increased in value that much).

It's in good shape, but I'm wondering if we'd see the ROI in the refinance from a higher appraisal if we decided to rip it out and add sheetrock and recessed lighting.

But, this is also a challenge if your market shifts or we go into a recession.  

Now I see lot of people ( many on youtube) are suggesting that housing market is progressing towards a recession/ correction/crash and prices are going to fall soon.

This was due to desirability, affordability, limited supply due to geography and laws protecting open space coupled with very high demand due to net in-migration of high-earners/wealthy people, and perhaps most importantly a diverse job market in recession-proof sectors like education, government, defense, healthcare, etc. not just tech, energy or manufacturing that can be boom/bust. 

Pandemic proof, recession proof, unemployment proof, wups I forgot it’s rent time proof!

And in the past, some of the best vintage years ( i.e. once in a generation opportunities) occurred after downturns (like the great recession).

When the recession hit, Michigan, hardest Detroit, was already hurting.

Are we going into a recession?  

We like self-storage because even if there is a recession, and people downsize, those people will have a need for self-storage, as evidenced by storage occupancy rates during past recessions.