TESTIMONY
Memo Salazar, Co-Chair of Western Queen's Community Land Trust, on Community Land Trust Initiative Funding and Affordable Housing
5:14:56
·
134 sec
Memo Salazar advocates for increased funding for Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) repairs to address the housing crisis.
- CLT Initiative funding enabled hiring of a full-time coordinator, enhancing community outreach and project advancement
- Calls for increasing CLT Initiative funding to $3 million to create truly affordable housing
- Urges allocation of $3.22 billion for NYCHA repairs and upgrades
- Argues that market-rate housing with minimal affordability is insufficient to solve the housing crisis
- Emphasizes CLTs' unique ability to connect with communities and deliver affordable housing projects
Memo Salazar
5:14:56
Thank you.
5:14:57
Hi.
5:14:58
My name is Memo Salazar.
5:14:59
I'm the cochair of the Western Queen's Community Land Trust.
5:15:03
We're one of the ZIP and Subsidy Council Funding through the Community Land Trust Initiative.
5:15:07
And thanks to you, we've been able to hire Pamela Eredada, their official coordinator.
5:15:11
First as a part time employee, but this past year on a full time basis.
5:15:16
And everyone else on the CLT is a volunteer, including myself, we all have to manage full time of jobs.
5:15:21
And families to do more CLT work.
5:15:23
So having someone like Pam to do it yourself full time on this has allowed has allowed us to carry out community events do more outreach, meet with a lot of the officials, further our work, and so on.
5:15:35
I realize our mayor is demanding that we tighten our belts and making cuts while also promising that the solution to our housing crisis lies in rezoning through the city of yes proposal.
5:15:45
But the data on that is incredibly clear about just building more market rate housing with only the most minimal affordability level is gonna create more about high priced market rate units that has gotten us into this mess.
5:15:57
And the only way to combat that if you're from Syria is funding on federal state and state levels, which is why emerging need to increase funding today for the CLT initiative this year to $3,000,000.
5:16:08
That's money that we need if CLTs are gonna be able to seed and provide, I think, truly affordable housing that the developers have failed to create.
5:16:15
Here in Queens, we now have CLTs in Ravenswood and Edgemere, but without funding.
5:16:19
None of us have a chance to succeed.
5:16:21
We have relationships to our communities that no consulting firm can compete with.
5:16:25
We are better to poison anyone.
5:16:27
At bringing affordable housing projects to the people that need it the most.
5:16:31
We also urge you to dedicate $3,22,000,000 in this year's budget to Nietcha.
5:16:36
For critical repairs and upgrades because night shift apartments should be no different than luxury apartments that are standing just down the street.
5:16:43
They should have paid.
5:16:44
They should have working elevators.
5:16:45
They should be just as safe and secure as the fanciest buildings that we have in New York City.
5:16:50
Both the UN our own state constitution have made it clear that housing is a human right.
5:16:54
So we look at TU as a representative to the background philosophy up with funding.
5:16:59
Some real fun that'll help us name York.
5:17:01
Thank you.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
5:17:03
Thank you.
5:17:03
Thank you so much, and thank you for the the proof of concept work that you are all doing at.
5:17:07
Western Queen CLT.
5:17:08
Thank you.
Memo Salazar
5:17:09
Thanks.
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Elaina Wood, Housing Director at Housing Works, on NYC Budget Impact on Housing Services and Affordable Housing Development
