PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jack Spadaro, Vice President of Bay Improvement Group on City of Yes for Housing Opportunity
13:08:36
·
123 sec
Jack Spadaro, representing the Bay Improvement Group, strongly opposes the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity plan. He argues that the housing crisis is false, and the plan will lead to overdevelopment, particularly in flood-prone areas. Spadaro contends that the proposal will effectively delete zoning regulations citywide, giving real estate developers unrestricted freedom.
- Claims current zoning allows for 5,000,000 more housing units without changes
- Argues for comprehensive, community-specific planning instead of broad zoning changes
- Asserts there are already 100,000+ empty housing units due to warehousing and vacant co-ops
Jack Spadaro
13:08:36
Okay.
13:08:36
My name is Jack Spadaro.
13:08:37
I'm the vice president of the Pain Improvement Group.
13:08:40
It's a coalition of residents of business owners in Schibsted Bay, Brooklyn.
13:08:44
We live in a flood zone.
13:08:46
Common sense building would mean no new building in any flood zones.
13:08:50
But since super storm sanding, 200 new housing projects have been built on the waterfront alone.
13:08:57
The overdevelopment is real, and the housing crisis is false.
13:09:03
Our waterfront community, which has a special use district zoning such as city islands, should be left as is to keep our waterfront neighborhood in the character that it was intended.
13:09:14
This planning is meant for hundreds of years, not short term.
13:09:19
We are for a we are for affordable housing, but this plan does not incorporate that.
13:09:26
We offer more housing.
13:09:29
The mayor wants 500,000 more units in this plan over the next 10 years currently without changing one word of the current zoning.
13:09:36
We can build 5,000,000 more units.
13:09:40
The solution should be comprehensive planning with each community individual's needs and not deleting zoning altogether.
13:09:47
And let's be real.
13:09:49
Zoning will be deleted all over the city.
13:09:53
Whether it be historic districts, special use districts, residential and commercial use, it's all gone.
13:10:02
Real estate developers will have free rain to do whatever they like.
13:10:07
There are estimated to be more than 100,000 at the units of housing right now for private ownership warehousing of empty apartments and tens of thousands of empty coops and commas across the city.
13:10:20
The city of yes will impact our city forever and will never be unchanged.
13:10:24
This will affect generations to come.
13:10:27
The biggest real estate grab in our city history is happening now.
13:10:34
Please vote.
13:10:35
No.
UNKNOWN
13:10:35
Thank you.
13:10:36
Your time's expired.
Jack Spadaro
13:10:37
Yes.
13:10:38
Thank you.
