PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Dan Kent, CEO of Lantern Organization
8:25:37
·
115 sec
Dan Kent, CEO of Lantern Organization, strongly supports the City of Yes for Housing proposal. He argues that New York City's high homelessness rate is due to insufficient housing production, especially in low-density districts. Kent emphasizes that the plan is modest and will not overwhelm infrastructure but will help address homelessness, increase tax revenue, and make rents more affordable.
- Kent highlights that even after City of Yes, low-density districts in NYC will produce less housing than Detroit and only 1/3 of Los Angeles' rate.
- The plan aims to add 100,000 units over 15 years, averaging one unit per city block.
- He argues this increase won't cause infrastructure crises but will help fund improvements through increased tax revenue.
Dan Kent
8:25:37
Good evening.
8:25:38
My name is Dan Kent.
8:25:39
I'm the CEO of Lantron Organization.
8:25:42
We're a nonprofit affordable housing and support of housing developer with the mission to end homelessness in New York City.
8:25:49
And that is why I am here in strong support of the city of Yes for Housing.
8:25:54
Now the reason that New York City has the highest rate of homelessness in the country five times higher than other cities like Austin, Texas is because we don't build enough market rate housing.
8:26:05
We do not produce enough housing, especially in the low density districts in New York City.
8:26:12
In our low density districts, even after city of yes is approved, hoping it comes through, even after it's approved, they will still barely produce more housing than Detroit.
8:26:25
They will still produce housing at a rate that is 1 third of Los Angeles.
8:26:31
And I don't know about you, but I hate when New York loses to Los Angeles.
8:26:35
So the plan is actually quite modest.
8:26:38
We're only talking about 100,000 additional units across the city over 15 years.
8:26:46
There are 120,000 city blocks in New York City.
8:26:52
That works out to one unit of housing per block across the city.
8:26:57
That's not going to overwhelm our sewers that is not going to cause a parking crisis or a traffic crisis.
8:27:05
What it will do is help and the homelessness crisis, it will increase tax revenue so that we can make infrastructure investments in things like our sewers and in our traffic infrastructure.
8:27:17
And it will help bring down rents for everyone in this city.
8:27:22
So I urge you help end homelessness, help improve our infrastructure, help make rents more affordable, approve the city of yes.
8:27:31
Thank you.
