REMARKS
Council Member Vickie Paladino voices concerns about City of Yes for Economic Opportunity
2:34:15
·
3 min
Council Member Vickie Paladino expresses concerns about the proposed citywide zoning text amendment.
- Argues the zoning changes are a "one size fits all" approach that does not consider the different needs of individual neighborhoods
- Notes her district 19 and community boards 7 and 11 are opposed to the changes
- Takes issue with allowing businesses like barbershops and nail salons to operate in residential homes, citing potential parking and quality of life issues
- Suggests incentivizing these businesses to move into empty storefronts instead
- Questions what role the City Council will play going forward if community input is disregarded
Vickie Paladino
2:34:15
Good afternoon, and thank you.
2:34:17
Thank you for your patience.
2:34:19
And I wanna say, our City Council here seems to be very much in a grant that it's not a one size fits all issue here.
2:34:30
I don't understand when we have as many people as we community boards as we have in the city of New York, why are we making this a blanket coverage, broad stroke, but one size fits all in every single burrow.
2:34:45
I think this is the hardest part that the people are having with this.
2:34:50
Because people have expressed loudly depending upon what community boards you're involved in, that they are totally opposed to this economic city of yes.
2:35:00
It doesn't best suit a lot of the residential districts one of which I represent, which is district 19.
2:35:08
I wanna thank you because you did send a representative to Community Board 7.
2:35:13
And to community board 11, whereas they voted it down entirely.
2:35:19
Whereas that says that the people actually have no say in what happens into the in the neighborhoods.
2:35:28
So I wanna ask you a couple of questions.
2:35:31
The couple of questions I have, I'm gonna just circle to one of the main issues that my district is facing.
2:35:39
These home businesses.
2:35:43
You categorize barbershops, nail salons, and beauty pollers, along with interior designers and lawyers and such that work very quietly at their keyboards and they run a very quiet business.
2:35:57
Out of their home.
2:35:59
Very, very big problem is when you're dealing with a barbershop or a nail salon, We have people coming in and out of a residential home at all hours of the day.
2:36:13
We have a parking problem.
2:36:16
My people in my in in district 19, we have areas for people to oh, you're talking about empty storefronts.
2:36:25
Right?
2:36:26
So wouldn't it be wise for these nail salons to now be given certain maybe tax brakes or whatever to incentivize moving into actual empty storefronts, what they are built for.
2:36:42
You also referred to antiquated 1961.
2:36:47
I take a little offense with that.
2:36:50
No offense.
2:36:52
I was around when typewriters were around, and it was an okay thing.
2:36:56
But, you know, let's make a joke here.
2:36:58
Let's lighten it up a little bit.
2:37:00
But the bottom line is that we do have a problem with this being not a one size fits all, and yet you're gonna you're gonna, like, shove this down everybody's throat.
2:37:13
And counsel member nurse brought up an excellent point.
2:37:18
As did brewer, as did Lin Schulman, as did Ariola, we all sat here.
2:37:26
And we all have very, very similar questions, and yet this is moving through like a freight train.
2:37:34
So what can we bring back?
2:37:35
And what can we tell the people who are on Zoom right now?
2:37:39
How this is gonna roll out?
2:37:41
When is this gonna roll out?
2:37:43
And you're forcing us as council members to accept this and I wanna know what role as a council member are we going to be able to play Going forward, if you're gonna disregard the people who represent us in community boards and in civics, exactly what control as a council member are we going to have over the city of yes, be it economic, BE IT HOUSING GOING FORWARD.
2:38:13
THANK YOU.