PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sam Zimmerman on City of Yes for Housing Opportunity
12:27:21
·
82 sec
Sam Zimmerman, a resident of the Lower East Side and co-op owner, enthusiastically supports all provisions of the City of Yes proposal. He argues that making housing more affordable and accessible is crucial for New York City, and that the proposal addresses longstanding issues of segregation and housing shortages.
- Zimmerman counters claims that upzoning and increased housing production have failed, pointing out that housing restrictions have been in place since at least 1961.
- He criticizes organizations like Village Preservation, stating that their efforts, such as downzoning the East Village in 2008, have not improved affordability.
- Zimmerman emphasizes that current housing production is insufficient to meet the city's needs, urging the council to pass City of Yes in its strongest form.
Sam Zimmerman
12:27:21
Hi.
12:27:21
My name is Sam.
12:27:22
I know it's been a really long day, so thank you to the members and staff for sticking with us.
12:27:26
I just got home from work and would have been able to test to 5 if this meeting wasn't in its 12th hour, so I appreciate it.
12:27:32
I'm a resident of the lower east side where I own a unit in a coop that would potentially be significantly impacted by city of yes, and I enthusiastically support each and every provision of city of yes.
12:27:42
Because making New York housing more affordable and accessible to all is the most important thing we can do.
12:27:48
City of US came out of the city's fair housing report to address the legal and practical segregation that has existed in our city for decades.
12:27:55
Contrary to the misinformation I've heard here in the short time I've been on from organizations like village preservation, the overwhelming evidence shows that new housing production makes housing more affordable.
12:28:06
The pro segregation is claimed that up zoning and producing more housing has been tried and failed.
12:28:11
But the reality is we've been restricting housing production since at least the 1961 zoning resolution.
12:28:17
Just near me in Downtown Manhattan, in 2008, we downzoned the East Village at the past organizations like village preservation has done nothing to help affordability.
12:28:27
People see big shiny buildings in the Williamsburg Waterfront, and they think that means we're producing enough housing.
12:28:32
But it's just a drop in the bucket of the hundreds of thousands of units we need to make the city more going accessible to all.
12:28:38
So thank you again for your time, and please pass city of yes in its strongest form.
12:28:42
Thank you.
