Q&A
Explanation of how the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity accounts for NYC's unique characteristics
1:17:52
·
138 sec
Chair Garodnick explains how the zoning proposal accounts for New York City's unique characteristics while drawing on successful practices from other cities. He emphasizes that while some aspects are unique to NYC, the fundamental principle of increasing housing supply to lower costs applies universally.
- Garodnick cites examples from other cities like Portland, Seattle, and Houston
- He discusses how the proposal adapts parking requirements based on NYC's specific needs
- The chair emphasizes the consistency of the proposal with fair housing goals
Daniel Garodnick
1:17:52
Yeah.
1:17:52
Thank you very much for that question.
1:17:54
And I I think it's really important to note that some things are unique to New York City and some things are not.
1:18:00
As it relates to the need for us to create housing supply, we have precedence from around the country, Portland, and Seattle, Houston, Austin, other cities, and all of the research shows that by creating more housing, more opportunities for housing, it has the direct effect of lowering costs.
1:18:23
That principle applies in New York City, applies to every neighborhood of New York City.
1:18:27
Nobody is exempt from that reality as it relates to parking specifically.
1:18:35
Again, we have seen what has happened in other places that have eliminated a parking mandate.
1:18:40
And we've also seen what's happened in New York City with its own proposals for land use changes in low density areas where parking is routinely provided well above the minimum that we require in zoning.
1:18:54
So those factors together lead us to conclude that we are right down the fairway as it relates to what you would expect in New York City in relation to what you see in other parts of the country.
1:19:06
So we believe that it's going to work.
Kevin C. Riley
1:19:09
To my understanding, so it's strictly just the context of understanding that building more housing will limit the cost of living in New York City is really why you utilize other city's practices for this reformal proposal.
1:19:22
Correct?
Daniel Garodnick
1:19:22
Well, decades of research have shown that housing shortages drive high housing costs city wide.
1:19:30
Cities that build housing in response to that need see lower housing costs than the cities that that don't.
1:19:36
That basic point is not in serious dispute anymore.
1:19:39
We can see it in the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Fuhrman Center, academics have backed that up from the brookings Institution, Center for American Progress, and it holds at the neighborhood level 2.
1:19:51
New housing in neighborhoods, where rents are rising, results in lower rents.
1:19:57
So we have lots of evidence to support this.
1:20:02
And of course, it is consistent with the city's own fair housing goals to be able to deliver a little more housing in every neighborhood of the city.
