QUESTION
Can the number of studio apartments be reduced in favor of larger units?
0:42:51
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123 sec
The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is open to reevaluating the unit mix in housing projects to better accommodate varying demands and family sizes.
- HPD tries to balance demand for different types of affordable housing, including studios and larger units.
- There have been changes in the past aimed at increasing family-sized units in projects.
- HPD commits to assessing flexibility in the unit mix during the development process.
- Council Member Amanda Farías advocates for reducing the number of studios to provide more dignity and living space.
Amanda Farías
0:42:51
In terms of the unit type for studios, I see that we have 69 in totality, I hear.
0:42:56
Other members talking about expanding space.
0:42:59
Typically, studios are the most transient apartments that are in our buildings.
0:43:05
Is there flexibility here to reduce the studio counts to maybe give more space for some of the other apartments or create maybe maybe consolidating studios to make one bedrooms versus just having studios.
0:43:22
Or is this to your HPD term sheet requirements to have this many studio apartments?
Arvind Sindhwani
0:43:28
So HPD projects try and balance the unit mix.
Amanda Farías
0:43:31
Yep.
0:43:31
That's the
Arvind Sindhwani
0:43:32
demand across the board for affordable studios, 1 Bedrooms, 2 Bedrooms, and 3 Bedrooms.
0:43:38
We have made unit mix changes in the past.
0:43:41
To increase the number of family sized units in the project.
0:43:45
We can definitely take a look to see where there's room, you know, throughout the duration of the dealer process.
0:43:51
Right now, we're focused on bringing the total number of 30 percent MI units up to to increase the total affordability response to council member Emilia's requests.
Amanda Farías
0:44:03
Mhmm.
0:44:03
I mean, in my own personal perspective, I see the homeless set aside the number of 42 is listed under studio.
0:44:12
Whether you are previously in house, currently in house, you're an elderly person.
0:44:18
Everyone likes a separation in their own bedroom, in an in an apartment.
0:44:22
So where there is flexibility, I would encourage you folks to try to bring that number down to help either with the sizing across the board and other units, which might mean we get less units out of this.
0:44:35
But additionally, just to actually provide some dignity in some of these apartments.
0:44:40
We've all living in in New York as New York because we've all lived in a variety of apartments I had a studio for too.
0:44:46
I thankfully had a door in my previous studio, so it was separate from the rest of my living arrangements, but that's not the case for everyone.