PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Igor Nikitenko on City of Yes for Housing Opportunity
11:29:04
·
121 sec
Igor Nikitenko, a Russian immigrant living in Brooklyn, expresses strong support for the City of Yes proposal, citing personal experiences with housing challenges. He emphasizes the city's moral obligation to welcome immigrants and those fleeing hostility, while detailing his family's struggles with finding adequate housing.
- Nikitenko shares his living situation: sharing a 2-bedroom apartment with his disabled brother and pregnant wife, while also caring for his disabled mother nearby.
- He describes the difficulties in finding larger, affordable housing, including discrimination against Section 8 vouchers and intense competition for available apartments.
- Nikitenko fears being forced to leave the city he loves due to lack of suitable housing options, urging support for City of Yes to increase housing of all types.
Igor Nikitenko
11:29:04
Hello.
11:29:05
My name is Igor Nicotenko.
11:29:07
Thank you for giving me a chance to speak here.
11:29:09
I would like to voice my support for the city of yes.
11:29:13
I was born in Russia where my parents foresaw the rise of authoritarianism and seize the opportunity to move to the United States.
11:29:22
Since arriving in Brooklyn in 98, the day passes by without me not being grateful for being here.
11:29:28
I believe our city has a moral obligation to welcome those fleeing hostility, including many places in the United States, as symbolized by the Statue of Liberty.
11:29:39
I've been in Brooklyn night for 26 years.
11:29:42
I lived in Midwood, Raven, Benson, Hurst.
11:29:44
And for the past 6, I've called Flatbush my home.
11:29:48
At the moment, I share my eyes to bedroom apartment with my brother and my wife.
11:29:52
My brother has a disability, and I take care of him.
11:29:56
He requires a space that shoots his needs.
11:29:59
I also have a mother who lives just a few blocks away from me, and she also has a disability.
11:30:04
And she went through a nightmare to find her own housing.
11:30:08
She had a section 8 voucher, but no broker will return the call once they get wind of that.
11:30:13
We're fortunate, very fortunate to secure something close by, and she lives now too far from me, like I said.
11:30:20
And as far as my wife, well, she's expecting our first child.
11:30:25
We are to put it mildly in desperate need of a bigger place.
11:30:29
Now I've been trying to find a larger apartment to rent for my own growing family, preferably not too far from my mother.
11:30:36
But it seems every time we show up for a viewing for a decent suitable place, there are dozens or more people waiting in line, all competing for the same space.
11:30:45
And the price sometimes is just beyond our reach.
11:30:48
I love to stay close to my mother, to my friends, to the life we've built here.
11:30:52
But without additional housing, we'll be forced to back up and leave leave the city that I love.
11:30:59
Please consider supporting the city of yes so we could have more housing of all types.
11:31:04
Thank you.
