PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Eustacia Smith, Member of West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing
11:13:16
·
129 sec
Eustacia Smith from West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing (WSFSH) testifies in support of the City of Yes for Housing proposal, emphasizing its potential impact on affordable housing for seniors. She highlights the disproportionate effect of the housing crisis on older New Yorkers and calls for additional measures to expand affordable senior and supportive housing production.
- WSFSH supports Universal Affordability Preference but requests a deep affordability band
- Smith advocates for changing zoning regulations to allow affordable housing creation in all neighborhoods
- She emphasizes the need for additional incentives specifically for senior housing development, including annual production goals of at least 1,000 new deeply affordable units with services
Eustacia Smith
11:13:16
Good evening.
11:13:17
I'm Ustasia Smith from West Side Federation for Senior In Support of Housing or Wishfish.
11:13:22
Thank you to the city council for the opportunity to testify.
11:13:25
Wish Fish develops and operates and provides services for low income senior and supportive housing in New York City as we have done for nearly 50 years.
11:13:33
New York City's housing crisis weighs disproportionately on older New Yorkers.
11:13:37
Older New Yorkers are more presently low income than other groups.
11:13:40
They are the fastest growing group of homeless people.
11:13:43
Older New Yorkers are more likely to be extremely low income and need deeply affordable housing as recent data has shown.
11:13:51
Our staff are themselves suffering in the housing crisis.
11:13:54
A growing number have experienced homelessness or have to commute several hours daily because they cannot afford to live in New York City.
11:14:01
New York City must take all possible measures to increase the supply of affordable housing.
11:14:06
Wish fish strongly supports the zoning changes outlined in city of yes for housing.
11:14:11
We support universal affordability preference, which will mean additional affordable supportive housing could be built by giving developments a density bonus, but we would like to see a deep affordability band.
11:14:23
We support changing outdated zoning regulations that would allow for the creation of affordable housing in all neighborhoods and areas of the city rather than the situation we are in now, where some neighborhoods have developed a lot of affordable housing and in other areas, there has been none.
11:14:38
However, zoning changes alone will not solve New York City's housing crisis.
11:14:42
New York City must take additional measures to dramatically expand affordable senior and supportive housing production.
11:14:48
The development of senior housing has long depended on air's incentives, while we support Incentives being applied more generally through the provisions of City of Yes, we will need additional incentives specifically for senior housing development.
11:15:03
The city must set annual production and preservation goals for affordable senior housing, including at least 1000 new units of deeply affordable senior housing with fully funded services per year.
11:15:15
Again, we say yes to city of yes, and New York City must also protect and prioritize the production of deeply affordable senior housing with services.
11:15:24
Thank you.
