PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Israel Sanchez, Campaign Coordinator at Association For Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD)
2:24:50
·
123 sec
Israel Sanchez from ANHD expresses support for the goals of Intro 994 to mitigate extreme heat effects on vulnerable New Yorkers but unable to fully support the legislation due to implementation concerns for nonprofit affordable housing providers. He recommends modifications to the bill and additional funding to address these issues.
- Suggests adding a temporary exemption for nonprofit-owned affordable housing, requiring compliance only at refinancing or major renovations
- Recommends committed funding in the next council budget to help low-income tenants cover potential increases in utility costs
- Expresses support for other bills being heard, with plans to provide recommendations for strengthening modifications in written testimony
Israel Sanchez
2:24:50
Thank you, chair Sanchez and members of the committee.
2:24:53
My name is Israel Sanchez.
2:24:54
I am a campaign coordinator at the Association For Neighborhood and Housing Development.
2:24:59
A and HD supports the goals of intro 994 to mitigate the effects of extreme heat on vulnerable New Yorkers.
2:25:05
We've all heard the effects that extreme heat rising temperatures have on the most vulnerable New Yorkers in our city due to the urban heat island effect, redlining, etcetera.
2:25:14
It is critical that everyone has access to a thermally safe environment and cool temperatures in their homes, especially when cooling centers are not always available.
2:25:23
However, at this moment, we are unable to support the legislation because it is not structured in a way that is feasible to implement for our nonprofit owned affordable housing members.
2:25:32
ANHD's member organizations are already are already struggling to maintain their buildings in the face of unaddressed rental arrears, and rising insurance costs and costly delays in backlogs.
2:25:44
There's simply no money in their building's existing underwriting to pay for the new cooling systems, especially if we wanna encourage long term sustainability over quick fixes.
2:25:53
We recommend adding a temporary exemption in this bill for nonprofit owned affordable housing, which should be required to meet the new cooling requirements, standards in existing buildings only at a point of refinancing or major renovations when the costs associated with the upgrades can be, accommodated and any necessary structural or system upgrade work can be done more efficiently.
2:26:16
This would ensure that our nonprofit owned affordable housing stock can be brought up to the max temp requirements, proposed without sacrificing affordability or placing our community housing organizations under further financial duress.
2:26:28
We also recommend committed funding in the next council budget, to ensure that low income tenants that are already struggling with rising rent and utility costs have access to programs that can help them cover any increases in utility costs through programs such as HEAP.
2:26:43
And finally, I'd like to, also state that A and H supports the other bills being heard today, and we'll include some recommendations for strengthening modifications in our written testimony.
2:26:53
So thank you.
