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TESTIMONY

Barry Weinberg from Manhattan Community Board 9 on support for City of Yes for Housing Opportunity with conditions and concerns about Universal Affordability Preference (UAP)

12:29:04

·

3 min

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Barry Weinberg, First Vice Chair of Manhattan Community Board 9, expresses support for the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity initiative with certain conditions and raises concerns about the Universal Affordability Preference (UAP) provision. He highlights the board's vote in favor of the initiative while suggesting modifications to specific zoning regulations and expressing gratitude for the Department of City Planning's engagement.

  • Recommends increasing Floor Area Ratio (FAR) limits in certain zoning districts and expanding the maximum square footage for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
  • Expresses concern that the UAP provision does not explicitly require affordable housing units to be made available to the general public
  • Urges the inclusion of a safeguard in the zoning text to prevent institutions from reserving affordable housing units created through UAP for their own affiliates
  • Community Board 9 voted in favor of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity with certain conditions
  • Believes certain provisions do not go far enough, particularly 23-211
  • Recommends increasing FAR in R1-R3 zoning districts to 1.0 and R2X and R4 districts to 1.25
  • Suggests increasing ADU maximum square footage from 800 to 1200 square feet
  • Appreciates DCP staff's work and outreach efforts
  • Concerned about UAP (27-111) not requiring affordable housing units to be made available to the general public
  • Urges inclusion of provision in zoning text to ensure UAP affordable housing units are available to the public, not just institutional affiliates

[EXPERIMENTAL]

Which elements of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity were discussed in this testimony?

  • UAP
  • ADU
  • Campuses

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

"But our biggest pieces of feedback are around UAP, particularly 27 dash 111."

This quote directly mentions UAP (Universal Affordability Preference) and indicates that the speaker is about to discuss this element of the proposal.

"We are extremely concerned that UAP as written does not include in the zoning text a requirement that Affordable housing units created with the bonus square footage be made available to the general public."

This quote discusses a specific concern about the UAP element of the proposal, particularly regarding the allocation of affordable housing units.

"And so we urge you to include a provision in 2711 and any other necessary parts to require any affordable housing units from UAP to be made available to the public and not just to affiliates of the institutional loan."

This quote provides a suggestion for improving the UAP element of the proposal, specifically addressing the allocation of affordable housing units.

ADU

"We also believe that the ADU maximum square footage should be bumped from 800 square feet to 1200 square feet to allow for the potential for 2 bedroom ADUs."

This quote directly mentions ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) and discusses a specific suggestion for changing the maximum square footage allowed for ADUs.

Campuses

"Manhattan Community Board 9 is home to many large real earning institutions, including Columbia University, Barnard College, in the Elijio Seminary, Jewish Elijio Seminary,"

While this quote doesn't directly discuss the Campuses element of the proposal, it mentions several large institutions that could be affected by the Campuses policy. The speaker's subsequent concerns about these institutions potentially using UAP bonuses for their affiliates suggests an indirect discussion of the Campuses element.


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.

↗ Why are there transcription and diarization errors?
Dan Garodnick
12:29:04
To his grandmother
Max Davidson
12:29:05
and we wanted to ask you, Eaton.
Barry Weinberg
12:29:07
The Irish mother and me tells you it's your own fault for trying to push through 1386 pages.
12:29:12
Is there any text?
12:29:13
So I'll split the difference and say good evening.
12:29:16
My name is Barry Weinberg.
12:29:18
I am the 1st vice chair of Manhattan Community Board 9.
12:29:21
I am here to deliver certain feedback from our board.
12:29:26
We voted in favor of the city of yes for housing opportunity with certain conditions.
12:29:35
Like the previous speaker, we believe that certain provisions do not go far enough particularly 23 dash 211.
12:29:45
We believe that the R1 through R3 zoning district should instead of having a 0.75 FAR be bumped up to 1.0 FAR and the R2X and R4 district should be bumped from 1.0to1.25far.
12:30:00
We also believe that the ADU maximum square footage should be bumped from 800 square feet to 1200 square feet to allow for the potential for 2 bedroom ADUs.
12:30:11
But beyond that, we also want to convey our sincerest appreciation and gratitude for DCP staff, particularly Burrow Planner Audrey walks.
12:30:22
Upper Manhattan team lead Jose Fruscios and Housing Division Chief John Mangin for all of their work in answering our many questions and for their many months of extensive outreach.
12:30:34
It is not lost on us that many of our proposals from our March 2023 resolution made it into this package.
12:30:41
So for those who are worried about not enough public engagement, it's been going on for years.
12:30:47
But our biggest pieces of feedback are around UAP, particularly 27 dash 111.
12:30:55
We are extremely concerned that UAP as written does not include in the zoning text a requirement that Affordable housing units created with the bonus square footage be made available to the general public.
12:31:09
Manhattan Community Board 9 is home to many large real earning institutions, including Columbia University, Barnard College, in the Elijio Seminary, Jewish Elijio Seminary, by allowing affordable housing units to be either Class A or Class B dwelling units and by allowing them to be either rooming units or housing units and by allowing them to be either residential or community facility space you open the door for enterprising and well heeled institutions to strike an agreement with HPD to provide the affordable housing units created with UAP bonus square footage to their own affiliates without having to make them available to the public through mechanisms like HPD's housing connect.
12:31:50
We have been assured that HPE would never do this, that there are other provisions that would prevent this, To which we reply great, then it shouldn't matter if you also include a line about it in the zoning text.
12:32:03
I'm an engineer by training.
12:32:04
A little redundancy is not a bad thing, it is a safeguard.
12:32:08
And so we urge you to include a provision in 2711 and any other necessary parts to require any affordable housing units from UAP to be made available to the public and not just to affiliates of the institutional loan.
12:32:22
Thank you.

Follow-up discussion/remarks

QUESTION

Commissioner Benjamin questions Community Board 9 representative about housing preferences

12:32:23

·

3 min

Commissioner Gail Benjamin engages in a dialogue with Barry Weinberg from Manhattan Community Board 9 about the Universal Affordability Preference (UAP) and institutional housing preferences. Weinberg expresses concerns about potential loopholes in the UAP that could allow institutions to restrict affordable housing units to their affiliates rather than making them available to the general public.

  • Weinberg supports neighborhood preferences but opposes restrictions that would limit UAP units to institutional affiliates only
  • The discussion touches on the potential for institutions like universities or houses of worship to use UAP for their own housing needs
  • Weinberg advocates for making UAP units available through the public lottery system, even if institutions want to prioritize their adherents or affiliates
  • Community Board 9 voted in favor of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity with certain conditions
  • Believes certain provisions do not go far enough, particularly 23-211
  • Recommends increasing FAR in R1-R3 zoning districts to 1.0 and R2X and R4 districts to 1.25
  • Suggests increasing ADU maximum square footage from 800 to 1200 square feet
  • Appreciates DCP staff's work and outreach efforts
  • Concerned about UAP (27-111) not requiring affordable housing units to be made available to the general public
  • Urges inclusion of provision in zoning text to ensure UAP affordable housing units are available to the public, not just institutional affiliates

[EXPERIMENTAL]

Which elements of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity were discussed in this testimony?

  • UAP
  • ADU
  • Campuses

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

"But our biggest pieces of feedback are around UAP, particularly 27 dash 111."

This quote directly mentions UAP (Universal Affordability Preference) and indicates that the speaker is about to discuss this element of the proposal.

"We are extremely concerned that UAP as written does not include in the zoning text a requirement that Affordable housing units created with the bonus square footage be made available to the general public."

This quote discusses a specific concern about the UAP element of the proposal, particularly regarding the allocation of affordable housing units.

"And so we urge you to include a provision in 2711 and any other necessary parts to require any affordable housing units from UAP to be made available to the public and not just to affiliates of the institutional loan."

This quote provides a suggestion for improving the UAP element of the proposal, specifically addressing the allocation of affordable housing units.

ADU

"We also believe that the ADU maximum square footage should be bumped from 800 square feet to 1200 square feet to allow for the potential for 2 bedroom ADUs."

This quote directly mentions ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) and discusses a specific suggestion for changing the maximum square footage allowed for ADUs.

Campuses

"Manhattan Community Board 9 is home to many large real earning institutions, including Columbia University, Barnard College, in the Elijio Seminary, Jewish Elijio Seminary,"

While this quote doesn't directly discuss the Campuses element of the proposal, it mentions several large institutions that could be affected by the Campuses policy. The speaker's subsequent concerns about these institutions potentially using UAP bonuses for their affiliates suggests an indirect discussion of the Campuses element.


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.

↗ Why are there transcription and diarization errors?
Dan Garodnick
12:32:23
Thank you.
12:32:24
Thank you for that.
12:32:25
Okay.
12:32:28
I'm sorry.
12:32:31
Mister Benjamin, I had a question for you.
Gail Benjamin
12:32:34
Are you in favor of neighborhood preferences, just not being institution?
Barry Weinberg
12:32:40
We are strongly in favor of neighborhood preferences.
12:32:43
We are disappointed about the recent settlement
Gail Benjamin
12:32:46
by 20% settlement.
Barry Weinberg
12:32:48
Yes.
12:32:48
But we are in favor of neighborhood preferences, but not restrictions on those units, only making them available to affiliates of the institution.
12:32:59
So for example, if you had a apartment building that was built by an institution, say for faculty housing, which is their right to have licensee housing, and they wanted to take advantage of the 20 percent FAR bonus provided by UAP, it would be theoretically possible we believe for the institution to sign a agreement with Columbia that they would make their affordable housing units under UAP, which can be community facility phase, which can be class b under the MDL available to graduate students say who make 20 to 30,000 a year and could conceivably have qualified under the income requirements and not make them available to the public.
12:33:41
And a big part of why we support the bulk of housing opportunity is because it holds the promise of finally incentivizing institution to build affordable housing that could be made available to the public.
12:33:54
But we want to make sure that that does not slip through.
12:33:56
And HPD, with all due respect, is a department that has sold out the people of New York for things as small as Yankee's tickets and Nets tickets if the DOE is to be believed.
Gail Benjamin
12:34:08
I don't know about that.
12:34:09
But I would also just ask if if the affordable housing provided under UAB is being provided by House of Worship.
12:34:23
Mhmm.
12:34:23
And they would like to encourage the housing for their
12:34:29
Adherence.
12:34:30
Mhmm.
12:34:30
Is that Then they
12:34:33
the category you were talking about?
Barry Weinberg
12:34:35
Then they should run workshops for their adherence to help them complete fully qualifying and completed housing connect applications and allow them to go through the lottery.
12:34:47
Like the general public perhaps with a better preparation.
12:34:50
But, you know, if they want to have licensee housing, they can do that without taking advantage of UAP.
12:34:55
But as as a counter, institutions in our neighborhood have purchased rent regulated buildings for years.
12:35:03
In the fifties and sixties, they would similarly evict all the tenants and then move in their people.
12:35:07
After the laws changed in the seventies, tenants were allowed to stay for the duration of their lease, at which point the unit is removed from regulation of the becomes licensee housing.
12:35:18
That is a separate problem for us, but this would finally allow us, but there are mixed affiliate, non affiliate buildings where those tendencies are still ongoing.
12:35:27
And so that is an excellent example of
Joseph Rosenberg
12:35:29
the type of housing that we would like
Barry Weinberg
12:35:30
to see deliberately created and made affordable and available to the general public in perpetuity.
UNKNOWN
12:35:36
Okay.
12:35:37
Thank you very much.
Gail Benjamin
12:35:40
Gotcha.
Dan Garodnick
12:35:41
Okay.
12:35:42
Alright.

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