PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by George Janes, Urban Planner
0:30:05
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123 sec
George Janes, an urban planner who assisted seven community boards in reviewing the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity amendment, expressed concerns about the proposal's radical nature and the process of its development. He highlighted potential issues with the amendment while suggesting that the Universal Affordability Preference (UAP) component should be retained.
- Janes criticized the proposal for changing fundamental zoning standards without conditioning these changes on the creation of affordable housing.
- He expressed concern about new CPC authorizations that would reduce the City Council's power and limit public input.
- Despite his criticisms, Janes recommended keeping the UAP, noting its potential benefits in certain areas like East Harlem and Central Bronx, especially when combined with the 485x program.
George Janes
0:30:05
My name is George James.
0:30:07
I'm the planner who helped 7 community boards in their review of this amendment.
0:30:12
I read all of his owning.
0:30:14
I attended dozens of public meetings, but today I'm here on my own time.
0:30:18
This proposal is radical.
0:30:21
The process was terrible.
0:30:24
And folks are rightly concerned it will not produce affordable housing in their neighborhood.
0:30:30
Many council members have concerns.
0:30:33
Housing opportunity changes basic zoning standards, reduces sizes of rear yards, side yards, legal windows, courts, open space.
0:30:41
City of yes changes the fundamental building blocks of the city without conditioning those changes on the creation of affordable housing.
0:30:50
It creates new CPC authorizations where the council would seed your power to an unelected unaccountable CPC, which would hold no public hearings on those authorizations.
0:31:03
Apparently, the public has become part of the problem, and so DCP wrote zoning to ensure the CPC won't have to hear from them at least for authorizations.
0:31:14
It's shameful, and I share some council member's concerns.
0:31:19
But instead of a flat no, I encourage counsel to consider modifications.
0:31:28
Reject what you need to reject, but definitely keep UAP.
0:31:32
UAP won't be used in most of the Manhattan Court.
0:31:36
It can't be used in most of the outer boroughs at a flat 10%, affordability requirement may have been better, but UAP is better than what we currently have.
0:31:46
UAP provides an affordability option in all high density districts.
0:31:50
If it gets used, it'll be good.
0:31:52
It's at 60% of AMI, and it provides permanent affordability and I think it will be used, not typically, but evidence suggests it will be used in places like East Harlem, Central Bronx, where UAP will be combined with 485x.
0:32:07
Thank you.
