Q&A
Council Member Brewer questions City Planning on housing proposal details
2:27:51
·
3 min
Council Member Gale A. Brewer engages in a rapid-fire Q&A session with Daniel Garodnick, Chair of the NYC City Planning Commission, about various aspects of the proposed housing plan. Brewer raises concerns and seeks clarification on topics such as transit-oriented development, parking requirements, building types, and the specifics of new housing units.
- Brewer expresses support for transit-oriented development but questions its potential impacts on existing buildings.
- She inquires about the possibility of eliminating driveways in fancy buildings to reduce car usage.
- Brewer raises concerns about the types of housing units being proposed, advocating for more family-sized apartments rather than studios.
Gale A. Brewer
2:27:51
Thank you very much.
2:27:51
I have I have to be Camilla Harris and debate a Trump person.
2:27:55
And if 2 minutes, so that's why it happened real fast.
2:27:59
Transit oriented development, that very supportive when you have that, you wanna have less parking, you wanna have taller buildings.
2:28:07
But wouldn't that mean that there could be some incentivizing of tearing buildings down in high density areas?
Daniel Garodnick
2:28:14
Transit oriented development would not apply in the medium and high density areas.
2:28:18
It only applies to R 1 to R 5.
Gale A. Brewer
2:28:20
Okay.
2:28:21
Number 2, this is a funny question.
2:28:23
But when you have driveways with fancy buildings, I don't like driveways with fancy buildings.
2:28:28
I think that the driveway should not be there.
2:28:30
Can we eliminate them?
2:28:31
Because we are also focused on having less cars.
Daniel Garodnick
2:28:36
I appreciate this point very much council member, and we should talk about it further.
2:28:40
It is not something that is, you know, in this proposal.
Gale A. Brewer
2:28:43
I know that.
Daniel Garodnick
2:28:43
But we should talk to to you about this further.
2:28:46
The Port Khosheir, I know, is a favorite of yours.
Gale A. Brewer
2:28:49
Thank you very much.
2:28:50
I'm financing because this is a great plan.
2:28:52
I don't know how much work has gone into it zoning wise, but in terms of building housing, where are the sticky vouchers?
2:29:00
Where are the fact that it could be more larger apartments, not fewer studios, not not we don't want fewer we don't want so many studios and want bedrooms, we want family sized apartments.
2:29:10
How does this plan help us get there?
Daniel Garodnick
2:29:14
Well, the most important piece is number 1, by allowing some number of studios and smaller apartments, we are reducing the pressure on family size units.
2:29:24
Because what's happening is you have single people who are doubling quadrupling, tripling up in in family size units, and we also are allowing for the existence of more buildings that are more suitable for family sized units by reducing some of the limitations on lots themselves to be able to do just that.
Gale A. Brewer
2:29:44
Okay.
2:29:44
I don't agree with that, but I appreciate your answer because I know time is of the essence.
2:29:48
With the s I call them SROs.
2:29:49
You've got some kind of other name for these buildings that you're calling congregate housing or something like that.
Daniel Garodnick
2:29:54
Shared housing.
Gale A. Brewer
2:29:55
They're SROs.
2:29:57
So my question is, will the bathroom be in the room, or will the bathroom be shared?
2:30:01
People will go to a place where there's a shared kitchen, but not a shared bathroom.
Daniel Garodnick
2:30:06
So there are a lot of components to this that would still need to be written through the housing maintenance code.
2:30:11
We're just looking to create the opportunity through zoning with their conversations with you all to come.
Gale A. Brewer
2:30:16
Okay.
2:30:16
And then the other issue is when you are open spacing, if that's a verb.
2:30:21
So Lincoln Towers, Park West Village, they don't want that.
2:30:24
Does that a place where this open space could involve building buildings?
Daniel Garodnick
2:30:29
If you're if you're asking about campus I am.
2:30:34
Infill.
Gale A. Brewer
2:30:35
I just wanted to find campus.
2:30:36
I got the church I got no church in with no space.
2:30:39
I got no schools with no space.
Daniel Garodnick
2:30:41
So the short answer is There are campuses that exist today, which are forced into terrible outcomes as a result of our own zoning, including some results that we have even seen in the 6th council district, where you have height factor buildings, which go way up and beyond what the neighborhood wants to do and also what even what developers wanna do.
2:31:01
This would allow for in campuses that have development rights more contextual buildings and not ones that go up into the sky.
2:31:10
That was deliberate in the zoning.
2:31:12
Today, you force developers to do things that neighborhoods frequently do not like.
Gale A. Brewer
2:31:16
Because I'm I'm not clear if it would apply to those, but we can discuss that later.
2:31:20
The ADUs, would they be in the donut of the brown zones, or would they be eliminated from the donuts of the brown zones?
Daniel Garodnick
2:31:26
R 1 to r 5.
2:31:27
So if you're talking about the your council district, the answer is no.
Gale A. Brewer
2:31:31
Okay.
2:31:32
I could go on, but thank you very much, Mister Che.
2:31:33
I know others have questions.
2:31:35
Don't forget about my driveway.
2:31:37
Thank you.
2:31:37
Okay, Gail.
2:31:38
Thank you.
Kevin C. Riley
2:31:38
Thank you.
