Adam Roberts from Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) on zoning text amendment for basement and cellar units in rent-stabilized buildings
5:17:10
·
139 sec
Adam Roberts, policy director for the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), expresses strong support for the zoning text amendment, particularly the provision allowing additional floor area ratio (FAR) for basements and cellars in buildings near transit. He argues that this change will create new affordable units and provide much-needed income for struggling rent-stabilized buildings.
- Roberts emphasizes the financial crisis facing rent-stabilized housing, citing a 20% drop in net operating income for pre-1974 buildings in the Bronx.
- He advocates for the expansion of the Universal Affordability Preference to create modern housing for current and new tenants.
- Roberts notes that state housing policies currently pose barriers to relocating tenants, which may limit the effectiveness of the zoning text amendment in creating affordable housing.
- Support for the zoning text amendment, particularly additional floor area ratio for basements and cellars near transit
- Potential for creating new affordable basement and cellar units in rent-stabilized buildings
- Additional income from new units would help cover maintenance costs for rent-stabilized buildings facing financial crisis
- Support for expansion of Universal Affordability Preference to create modern housing for current and new tenants
- Need for addressing barriers to relocating current tenants to effectively implement the zoning text amendment
- Importance of creating new rent-stabilized housing with modern accessibility features
[EXPERIMENTAL]
Which elements of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity were discussed in this testimony?
- UAP
- ADU
- Transit-Oriented Development
The following are AI-extracted quotes and reasoning about which elements of the proposal were discussed in this testimony.
This is a quick, close approximation. Occasionally, the connection between a testimony's transcript and specific elements of City Planning's proposal is tenuous.
Read about this AI-generated analysis here.
UAP
"The addition of SAR near transit and the expansion of the Universal affordability preference will create modern housing for current tenants and new housing for new tenants."
This quote directly mentions the Universal Affordability Preference, which is one of the key elements of the City of Yes For Housing Opportunity proposal. The speaker is indicating that this element will help create new housing.
ADU
"In particular, that additional floor area ratio will count towards basements and sellers for buildings located near transit."
While not explicitly mentioning ADUs, this quote discusses the inclusion of basements and cellars in floor area ratio calculations, which is closely related to the concept of Accessory Dwelling Units. This change would allow for the creation of new living spaces in existing buildings, which is a key aspect of the ADU proposal.
"Adding SAR to these buildings will create countless new affordable basement and seller units."
This quote directly mentions the creation of new basement and cellar units, which aligns with the ADU element of the proposal. These types of units are often considered as forms of ADUs in urban settings.
Transit-Oriented Development
"In particular, that additional floor area ratio will count towards basements and sellers for buildings located near transit."
This quote directly mentions the concept of transit-oriented development by discussing additional floor area ratio for buildings located near transit. This aligns with the proposal's aim to add housing near public transit.
"The addition of SAR near transit and the expansion of the Universal affordability preference will create modern housing for current tenants and new housing for new tenants."
This quote further reinforces the discussion of transit-oriented development by mentioning the addition of SAR (presumably Supplemental Area Ratio) near transit, which is a key aspect of the Transit-Oriented Development element of the proposal.
About this analysis:
This analysis is done by AI that reasons whether or not a quote from the testimony discusses a particular element of the proposal.
All the prompts and data are open and available on Github.
You can search for testimonies that mentioned a specific element in the table on the main meeting page.
When an element is explicitly stated in the testimony (e.g. "Universal Affordability Preference" or "UAP"), the analysis is accurate.
But the connection between a quote from the testimony and an element of the proposal is sometimes implicit.
In these cases, the AI might eagerly label a testimony as discussing a proposal when the connection is tenuous, or it might omit it entirely.