REMARKS
Council Member Chi Ossé advocates for the City of Yes housing plan and zoning changes
0:54:55
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110 sec
Council Member Chi Ossé delivers a passionate speech in support of the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity zoning amendment and the $5 billion City for All Housing Plan. He emphasizes the necessity of building more affordable housing in New York City to address the housing crisis and protect working-class residents.
- Ossé highlights the mismatch between job growth and housing development over the past 40 years
- He shares personal observations about displacement in his district of Bed Stuy
- Ossé argues that every community needs to contribute to solving the housing crisis
Chi Ossé
0:54:55
Thank you, majority leader.
0:54:56
I wasn't gonna speak today, but, you know, I've been hearing a lot of, statements from from some people, not old people, about their opposition to this.
0:55:06
It's wild to hear those same people who are pushing back against the development of new homes are the same people who aren't even against rent stabilization, could cause eviction, banning forced broker fees, and a plethora of other initiatives that keep affordability, or or protect affordability here in this city.
0:55:25
Let's talk about the facts.
0:55:27
Over the past 40 years, the city has added more jobs than we have homes.
0:55:32
The vacancy rate, as we've heard today, is at 1.4%.
0:55:36
I represent Bed Stuy where I saw the largest displacement of black people and an influx of new residents compared to every other community within the city.
0:55:46
When people are moving into our city to apply and work in those new jobs that we've added, they're competing for the same homes of working class New Yorkers, of workers who are working for New York City, which adds to the skyrocketing in our rents.
0:55:58
What we're doing here today is not easy, but it's necessary.
0:56:03
We need to build in this city.
0:56:04
We need to build affordability in this city.
0:56:06
We need rent stabilization in this city.
0:56:08
We need so much more to protect the working class New Yorkers that exist within the 5 boroughs.
0:56:14
Every single community needs to do their part, and the speaker's assistance here in pushing a city for all plan and adding $5,000,000,000, that's a lot of money to go towards affordable housing development, to go go towards infrastructure development is a necessary step.
0:56:30
Not not the end all be all, but a necessary step in putting us where we need to be and making the city affordable.
0:56:35
We cannot, as a body and government, sit idle and let the city become more and more unaffordable because of those who have continued to say no for decades.
