TESTIMONY
Laura Sewell, Director of The East Village Community Coalition, on Proposed City Policy Changes Impacting Commercial Vacancies and Affordable Housing
6:58:12
·
136 sec
Laura Sewell criticizes proposed city policy changes, expressing concerns over their impact on commercial vacancies and affordable housing in the East Village.
- Sewell, as the Director of The East Village Community Coalition, outlines the organization's work with SBS to form the St. Mark's Merchants Association and ongoing small business initiatives.
- She argues that proposed changes will not resolve commercial vacancy issues and may cause loss of affordable housing in the East Village.
- The testimony emphasizes the potential adverse effects of policy changes on the area's dense concentration of eating and drinking establishments.
- Sewell supports specific community board recommendations, including time limits on reactivation for non-conforming establishments and the encouragement of community facilities as alternatives to residential conversion.
- She highlights concerns over exemptions for small spaces and the need to consider street sizes to prevent congestion.
Laura Sewell
6:58:12
Good afternoon.
6:58:14
He's the I'm Laura Zillow of Director of The East Village Community Coalition, who has long worked with SBS to form the Stilage Merchants Association, and we continue to collaborate on small business initiatives in our area.
6:58:29
We do not believe that the proposed changes in the city of yester economic opportunity will solve the commercial vacancy issues in our mixed use neighborhood.
6:58:37
And we're concerned that some proposals will result in a loss of affordable housing.
6:58:43
Given that the East Village has an exceptional density in eating and drinking establishments and non conforming eating and drinking establishments.
6:58:52
The cumulative effect of policy changes must be considered.
6:58:56
We support CB 3's recommendation that time limits on reactivation should not apply to not conforming.
6:59:03
Eating and drinking establishments, and that News Group 3 community facilities should be incurred as an alternative.
6:59:10
Where conversion back to residential use is not practical.
6:59:14
We appreciate the desire to memorialize non conforming storefronts in certain areas but the East Village is a no danger of losing flourishing side street retail to aggressive enforcement.
6:59:24
Red pressures and an adequate protection for good operators are a far greater concern.
6:59:30
There should be no exemption for small spaces less than seventy five people person capacity city.
6:59:36
Again, because of the effect of multiple establishments like this that are often 20 to 40, it within one neighborhood within 500 feet according to the SLA.
6:59:49
In addition to the size of the premises, the size of the adjacent side streets, must be considered.
6:59:55
200 people entering or exiting a corner building would create overwhelming and congestion in the alphabets where an avenue is really a narrow side street.
7:00:05
It could not be two lanes.
7:00:07
It's And I think that's it on my time.
7:00:12
So I will just say appreciate your your your hanging in here to hear us at the end.
7:00:19
And we really hope that some of the changes recommended by the community boards will will find their way into the final proposal.
7:00:26
We're counting on this council to help with that.
7:00:28
Thank you.