Alex Armlovich, Housing Policy Manager at Niskanen Center, on City of Yes and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) limitations
12:26:00
·
175 sec
Alex Armlovich, representing the Niskanen Center and as a co-op owner in Jackson Heights, endorses all components of the City of Yes initiative but expresses concerns about the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) aspect. He argues that the proposed 3-5 story building limit near mass transit is insufficient for New York City's needs and context.
- Armlovich supports City of Yes for its affordability, climate, and economic growth benefits.
- He warns that the TOD component allowing only 3-5 story buildings near transit is too modest for NYC, comparing it unfavorably to other cities' height limits.
- He suggests that to meet Mayor Adams' housing goals and restore MTA ridership, NYC needs to allow for larger TOD projects.
- Endorses every component of the City of Yes initiative
- Concerned that the transit-oriented component allowing 3-5 story buildings near mass transit may not be enough
- Argues that 3 stories near transit is too small for New York City, comparing it unfavorably to Washington DC's height limits
- Believes the proposal will meet 20% of Mayor Adams' housing goal, but visible changes to neighborhoods will be minimal
- Calls for bigger Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) to reach 500,000 units and restore MTA ridership to 2019 levels
- Supports the initiative but warns it may not be sufficient for New York City's needs as a global megacity
[EXPERIMENTAL]
Which elements of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity were discussed in this testimony?
- 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.
ADU
"So like basically ADUs in three story buildings, it would it would end Buffalo's housing shortage."
The speaker mentions ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) in the context of the City of Yes proposal, indicating that this element is being discussed.
Transit-Oriented Development
"But I'm also here to give a modest warning on the transit oriented component. It's allowing just 3 to 5 story buildings near mass transit, and I'm concerned that it may not be enough."
The speaker directly addresses the transit-oriented development component of the proposal, expressing concern that the proposed 3 to 5 story buildings near mass transit may not be sufficient.
"3 stories may be transit oriented development in the Dallas suburbs but this is New York City. Our historic prewarvanacular is the six story walk up building. Three stories near transit and jobs is is arguably a historic and a contextual in this city."
The speaker continues to discuss the transit-oriented development aspect, comparing it to other cities and suggesting that the proposed height limits are too low for New York City's context.
"To get to 500,000 units and to get MTA ridership back to 2019 levels, we need big bigger TOD."
The speaker explicitly calls for larger Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) to meet housing goals and increase transit ridership.
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.