PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Bill Cryer on City of Yes for Housing Opportunity
8:29:13
·
109 sec
Bill Cryer, an Inwood resident, strongly supports the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity proposal. He shares personal experiences of housing challenges in NYC and advocates for shared housing, ADUs, and lifting parking mandates to address the housing shortage and affordability crisis.
- Emphasizes the current low vacancy rates and their negative impact on tenants
- Supports shared housing as an alternative for single adults to free up family-sized apartments
- Advocates for ADUs to allow intergenerational families to live together
- Argues for lifting parking mandates, especially near public transit options
Bill Cryer
8:29:13
Hi.
8:29:13
Thank you for the opportunity to speak.
8:29:15
My name is Bill Cryer, and I strongly support the city of yes for housing opportunity.
8:29:19
I live in Inwood with my wife, and 2 young children.
8:29:23
We just spent months looking for an apartment for my growing family, so we don't now have to sleep in the same room.
8:29:29
Vacancy rates are at an historic low right now.
8:29:33
Which means landlords have the upper hand to neglect tenants and to raise market rents.
8:29:38
Many families have left our neighborhood due to the cost and condition of housing, things like mold and lack of heat.
8:29:45
Families with children under 6 are twice as likely, New York City, as families without children.
8:29:51
So to help fix this, I support shared housing.
8:29:54
Families are often outbid for family sized apartments by single adults living as roommates.
8:29:59
Shared housing can serve as an alternative for single adult which will free up family sized apartments.
8:30:04
New housing can reduce competition for existing housing.
8:30:08
My art teacher in high school lived in shared housing and was the only way he could afford to live near his job in the neighborhood where he wanted to live.
8:30:15
Shared housing is small, but it's more affordable than studios and obviously better than homelessness.
8:30:20
I also support ADUs so inter intergenerational families can live together.
8:30:24
My mother often cares for my children, and my father needs more and more care himself.
8:30:29
ADUs allow intergenerational families to stay close.
8:30:32
Finally, I support lifting parking mandates.
8:30:35
Cities around the country with far worse transit are lifting parking mandates.
8:30:38
A housing development in my neighborhood is being forced to build expensive parking, around the corner from the subway and multiple bus stops.
8:30:45
These mandates increase car ownership and traffic.
8:30:48
If you want to fix parking, we should look at reforming street parking.
8:30:53
City of yes for housing opportunity only addresses a fraction of the housing sort shortage.
8:30:58
I urge the council to vote yes and continue to do more.
8:31:01
Thank you.
