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Q&A
Council Member Sandy Nurse questions EDC on Broadway Junction, basement ADUs, and OpenAI partnership
1:13:35
ยท
3 min
Council Member Sandy Nurse engages in a Q&A session with Andrew Kimball of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) about various projects and initiatives. The discussion covers the status of plaza work at Broadway Junction, the basement ADU one-stop shop, and concerns about EDC's partnership with OpenAI.
- Kimball provides updates on the Broadway Junction plaza project, including the relocation of NYPD presence and upcoming selection of a design firm.
- Questions arise about the basement ADU one-stop shop, which Kimball is unfamiliar with and promises to investigate.
- Nurse expresses caution about EDC's partnership with OpenAI, citing concerns about the company's alleged use of artists' and entrepreneurs' work without proper attribution or compensation.
Sandy Nurse
1:13:35
Thank you chair.
1:13:37
How you doing?
1:13:38
Good afternoon.
1:13:38
I just had a couple it is on, I'll be louder sorry.
1:13:44
I just had a couple couple questions.
1:13:45
If you could put on record a status update on the work of the plazas over in Broadway Junction.
1:13:53
I know you mentioned in your testimony, but if you could elaborate just kind of where you all are in the process for the record.
Andrew Kimball
1:13:58
Yeah, those are moving along in pre design phase, a big step as you know to securing the kind of public realm we want around the subway station is relocating the NYPD presence and have appreciated the conversations we've had with your office and collaboration on that.
1:14:16
That's huge to move them to really get the kind of open space that we want.
1:14:23
We will be selecting a design firm shortly in the coming months and are moving forward.
1:14:30
The funding is there as is the MTA funding.
Sandy Nurse
1:14:32
Okay.
1:14:33
And do you know if you have a number of MWBEs who've applied for that design?
Andrew Kimball
1:14:40
RFP is out or about to go out and so in every one of those we work very hard to make sure that there are applicants who are MWBE as lead or they're brought in as subs to the prime.
Sandy Nurse
1:14:53
Okay, great.
1:14:55
And I know we have a bimonthly public realm working group where the community members come and agencies come.
1:15:02
I think we've been trying to figure out how to land a website somehow that has the commitments that are be able to track what's coming and what we're doing.
1:15:12
So we're looking forward to getting that online soon.
1:15:15
I can't remember if it landed with EDC hosting it or what Yating
Andrew Kimball
1:15:20
That's a great idea.
1:15:21
Let me look into Yeah.
1:15:22
But I
Sandy Nurse
1:15:22
think we've been really harping on that to include what kind of local hires are coming out of that.
1:15:27
We don't expect to get local hires out of the MTA work, sadly.
1:15:32
But it would be great to see if we can get some targets for the plaza work where you all have discretion.
1:15:42
I had a question about and I'm sorry if you covered this chair, the basement ADU one stop shop.
1:15:49
Can you tell me a little bit more about why EDC is hosting that or what that is?
Andrew Kimball
1:15:56
Honestly, that's the first time I've heard of it, so let me look into it and get back to Well,
Sandy Nurse
1:16:01
was in the committee report, so it will be great to find out why what EDC's role is with that.
1:16:10
And then the only other thing I would say is I see also that the partnership with OpenAI, and you know I just want to express caution and concern for partnering with a platform that is right now being accused and sued for taking the work of entrepreneurs, artists, their ideas, their work for their own gain.
1:16:36
And this kind of brings into question who the city is partnering with in terms of undermining our creative class that's here that we celebrate, and it might be at odds with our goals.
1:16:48
So that's it.