PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Matthew Robinson, Architect and Long-time New York Resident
1:03:59
·
126 sec
Matthew Robinson, a 50-year resident of New York with an architectural background, offers insights on rethinking housing and urban planning in light of post-pandemic changes. He suggests reconsidering traditional housing layouts, emphasizes the need for affordable office and manufacturing spaces, and proposes innovative uses for vacant retail spaces.
- Argues for re-evaluating housing needs (e.g., necessity of dining rooms and kitchens) based on changing lifestyles
- Advocates for affordable office and manufacturing spaces to boost employment and wages
- Proposes repurposing vacant retail spaces for community services and flexible use
- Suggests "smart architecture" that caters to different living situations (single vs. family) and questions the necessity of certain amenities to reduce costs
Matthew Robinson
1:03:59
Hi.
1:04:00
My name is Matthew Robinson.
1:04:01
I've been living in New York for over 50 years.
1:04:04
I have an architectural background.
1:04:06
How we eat, sleep, and drink, how we work, and how we learn today after the pandemic has radically changed.
1:04:14
So do we really need the dining room?
1:04:16
Do we really need the kitchen?
1:04:18
You know, with Grubhub, no one uses kitchens.
1:04:22
I'm concerned with that they're addressing affordable housing, but not affordable office.
1:04:29
Affordable office, affordable manufacturing will allow people who own these companies to hire people at a much higher rate, which will allow them to pay higher rent.
1:04:41
So I I think that we should think of that.
1:04:45
Also retail, retail for the most part is dead.
1:04:48
So how are we reusing those spaces that are being at are offsetting the cost of the housing properly?
1:04:57
And can some of those be support facilities like a, you know, where it's during tax time.
1:05:03
It's a tax office.
1:05:05
During some other time, it's maybe human resources.
1:05:09
So that on the street, you could actually go into a storefront and get the help that you need that's very, very visible.
1:05:18
I think that when you look at housing, if you wanted, pare down things.
1:05:23
You go, okay.
1:05:24
So I don't live with the doorman.
1:05:26
So I walk up some stairs.
1:05:28
So I don't have a dishwasher.
1:05:29
So I don't have so many things that people think are common things.
1:05:34
I think that you can have smart architecture that reexamines how do people live and how people live is different.
1:05:42
The approach for someone who's single is totally different than someone who's thinking of a family.
1:05:50
And I think that that is not being addressed in the issues that I've seen.
1:05:56
Also, coops in terms of taxes are being a wrong base in terms of other buildings, and I think that has to that everybody has to be changed.
Kevin C. Riley
1:06:05
Thank you, Mister Robinson.
