PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Felix Stetsenko, Renter from Upper West Side on City of Yes for Housing Opportunity
12:10:32
·
105 sec
Felix Stetsenko, a renter from the Upper West Side, expresses strong support for the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity initiative. He shares his personal story as a transplant to New York City and emphasizes the importance of maintaining the city's diversity and affordability.
- Stetsenko believes the proposal will allow for more housing growth, including near subway stations and in every neighborhood.
- He argues that the initiative will incentivize the construction of permanently affordable housing units.
- Stetsenko hopes the proposal will make New York City more vibrant and accessible to a diverse population, including artists, dreamers, and immigrants.
Felix Stetsenko
12:10:32
Alrighty.
12:10:33
Hi, everyone.
12:10:33
Good evening.
12:10:34
My name is Felix Tutsenko.
12:10:36
I'm a renter living on the Upper West Side Community District 7.
12:10:40
I'm really excited about the city of Diaz for housing opportunity initiative, and I hope these council members approve this proposal in a strongest possible form.
12:10:50
Why?
12:10:51
Because I'm a transplant to the city.
12:10:53
I moved here from Florida to stop in Washington DC because living in New York was my lifelong dream.
12:10:59
The skyscrapers, the culture, the diversity.
12:11:02
Moved here because I could also afford it.
12:11:04
I already had a well paid white collar job, and a brother was willing to let me live with him for a year while I gathered up saving some confidence to strike out on my own.
12:11:14
But I don't wanna be surrounded by only people with well paid white collar jobs.
12:11:18
For those with very nice brothers left them crash for a full year.
12:11:22
I wanna be surrounded by the artists, the dreamers, the immigrants who come here looking for the American dream.
12:11:27
I wanna live in the city that first welcomed my parents 40 years ago.
12:11:30
Immigration from the Soviet Union who came without a penny in their in the bank account.
12:11:35
I wanna live in a city that's affordable for all who make New York, New York.
12:11:40
And what a city of yes do for all of us?
12:11:42
It allows receivables more housing to grow.
12:11:45
It would open up lots next to subway stations that today are filled by single story big box stores to instead be filled by apartments and ground floor retail.
12:11:55
It would incentivize the construction of thousands of new units of permanently affordable housing in every single neighborhood.
12:12:02
Ours is a beautifully vibrant, diverse, magnificent city, and by adding a little more housing in every neighborhood, I strongly believe CVS will make New York greater and even more vibrant.
12:12:13
Thank you for your time and the opportunity to give testimony of this evening.
