PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Adam Brodheim, Member of Land Use Committee at Manhattan Community Board 7, on City of Yes for Housing Opportunity
6:48:32
·
125 sec
Adam Brodheim, a member of Open New York and Manhattan Community Board 7's housing and land use committee, testifies in support of the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity proposal. He contextualizes the need for zoning reform by referencing historical zoning changes and argues that it's time for another significant change to address current housing needs in New York City.
- Brodheim draws parallels between past zoning practices that marginalized immigrants and the current proposal that aims to be more inclusive.
- He emphasizes that the current zoning code is outdated, being based on a plan written when the city's population was shrinking.
- Brodheim argues that the proposed changes prioritize people over parking and understand that neighborhood character is about inhabitants, not just structures.
Adam Brodheim
6:48:32
Good afternoon, counsel members.
6:48:34
My name is Adam Brodheim, and I'm a proud member of Open New York and a privileged member of the and community board 7th, housing and land use committee.
6:48:41
Those are my extracurriculars, but my day job is working as a historic preservationist.
6:48:46
And so when something big and important like city of yes appears, I try to contextualize it in its history.
6:48:52
A 101 years ago, the committee on the height, size, and arrangement of buildings released their report on the need for zoning in New York City.
6:48:59
They concluded their introduction by saying that we strongly urge that there'd be no delay in bringing a remedy to Fifth Avenue.
6:49:05
As otherwise in a reparable injury may be done.
6:49:08
To be clear, that harm was my ancestors, Jewish garment workers congregating on Fifth Avenue during their lunch break.
6:49:14
And then in 1959, near decades after first enacting a zoning code, the city decided to start over again from scratch.
6:49:21
Caveatting itself only by noting that zoning is not a cure for every municipal problem.
6:49:26
By then, my family had moved from the tenements of the lower east side to the six story apartment buildings in Brooklyn and the Bronx that are illegal to build today.
6:49:33
And now in 2024, 6 years on, it's time for another change.
6:49:37
It's embarrassing that our home, the most vibrant city in America, is governed by a plan written for a time when our city was shrinking in population.
6:49:44
Earlier, I mentioned that report from 101 years ago on the need for zoning.
6:49:49
The reports authors have their offices in 115 Broadway.
6:49:52
As some of you in the room may know, that's Across the Street from 120 Broadway, where DCP has their offices today.
6:49:57
Last weekend, I went to the Statue of Liberty for the first time, proof that I really am a New Yorker.
6:50:03
And afterwards walking up Broadway stood between the two buildings.
6:50:06
On the one side division of zoning that tried to hide immigrants and on the other separated by a 100 years, one that seeks to bring them out of the shadows.
6:50:14
We have an opportunity to be remembered as a city that prioritizes people over parking.
6:50:19
That understands the neighborhood's character or its inhabitants, modest structures, and that the opportunity to build a little more housing everywhere is not a burden, but a privilege.
6:50:28
That's what DCP is proposing, a series of sensible, practical changes to better say, someday it's free.
6:50:34
We'll jump.
UNKNOWN
6:50:34
Your time is expired.
Adam Brodheim
6:50:36
This is Asia.
6:50:37
Thank you.
Kevin C. Riley
6:50:37
Thank you, Adam.
