PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Andrew Berman, Representative of Village Preservation
9:49:40
·
128 sec
Andrew Berman, representing Village Preservation, strongly opposes several provisions in the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity proposal. He argues that these changes would lead to larger luxury developments, reduce public oversight, and negatively impact neighborhood character and quality of life in Manhattan Community Boards 1 through 8.
- Opposes increased size allowances for market-rate developments in contextual zoning districts
- Criticizes broader air rights transfers from landmarks with reduced public input
- Concerned about increased encroachments on rear yards and open spaces
- Objects to increased construction allowances on "campuses" like religious institutions and universities
Andrew Berman
9:49:40
Hi.
9:49:41
I'm Andrew Berman, and I'm testifying on behalf of Village Preservation, a community organization and working in Greenwich Village, The East Village And NoHo.
9:49:49
We strongly oppose multiple provisions and city of yes for housing opportunity and urge the council to remove them or vote it down.
9:49:57
These include In Manhattan Community Boards 1 through 8, city of yes would increase the allowable size of purely market rate residential developments in contextual zoning districts, which would mean nothing more than bigger, taller, luxury condo developments in areas where zoning was designed to ensure harmonious relationship between new and existing development.
9:50:19
We oppose this.
9:50:21
CDBS would also allow transfers of air rights from individual landmarks over much broader geographic areas, with little or no public oversight or input.
9:50:31
This would result to nothing other than larger luxury condo, commercial office, and hotel development in our neighborhoods.
9:50:38
It's being built and is helping to maintain individual landmarks but would take an overly broad route to doing so while removing oversight to ensure such benefits are accrued.
9:50:49
In neighborhoods like ours with scores of individual landmarks, this would have incredibly far reaching impacts.
9:50:56
City of Yes would allow increased encroachments on rear yards and other precious open space in high density districts like ours, where it is extremely limited and essential to quality of life.
9:51:08
Worse, the encroachments would be allowed for purely market rate luxury condo developments.
9:51:14
And finally, City of Yes would increase allowances for construction on open spaces in what it calls campuses, which includes religious institutions, university superblock developments, and potentially night shift complexes.
9:51:28
This the city has refused to provide more information on the impact of these allowances, but in many cases, sandwiching more large buildings into these spaces, particularly just for luxury condo development, would not justify erasing these precious open basics.
Cliff Bruckenstein
9:51:44
We've we're
Zachary Thomas
9:51:44
all Thank you, Andrew.
Andrew Berman
9:51:46
For the large towers around them.
9:51:48
Thank you.
Shaun Abreu
9:51:48
You got it.
