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TESTIMONY

Carlo Casa, Director of Policy and Research at New York Building Congress, on strong support for City of Yes for Housing Opportunity initiative

2:43:16

·

136 sec

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Carlo Casa, representing the New York Building Congress, expresses strong support for the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity initiative. He emphasizes its potential to address the housing crisis by incentivizing more housing in every neighborhood, highlighting its flexibility and incorporation of community input.

  • Highlights key aspects of the initiative, including allowing housing above storefronts, permitting Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), and simplifying office-to-residential conversions
  • Praises the removal of outdated parking mandates, which can reduce housing costs
  • Supports the promotion of transit-oriented development, encouraging modest housing density near public transit
  • The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity is a rational initiative addressing the housing crisis
  • The initiative incorporates community input from over 175 community board meetings
  • The policy has the potential to create over 100,000 new homes
  • Removes outdated parking mandates that increase housing production costs
  • Promotes transit-oriented development by legalizing 3 to 5 storey apartments near public transit
  • Encourages modest housing density in sensible locations citywide
  • Uses zoning as a tool rather than an obstacle to meet New Yorkers' needs

[EXPERIMENTAL]

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

  • Residential Conversions
  • Town Center Zoning
  • Parking Mandates
  • 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.

Residential Conversions

"By allowing smaller scale housing to be built above storefronts, permitting ADUs, and simplifying the conversion of offices to residential spaces."

This quote directly mentions the simplification of converting offices to residential spaces, which is a key aspect of the Residential Conversions element of the City of Yes For Housing Opportunity proposal.

Town Center Zoning

"By allowing smaller scale housing to be built above storefronts, permitting ADUs, and simplifying the conversion of offices to residential spaces."

This quote mentions allowing smaller scale housing to be built above storefronts, which aligns with the Town Center Zoning element of the proposal that aims to revitalize commercial corridors by allowing housing above businesses in low-density areas.

Parking Mandates

"The city of Yes also removes outdated parking mandates, which today, increase the cost of housing production by roughly $100,000 per parking space."

This quote directly addresses the removal of parking mandates, which is a key element of the City of Yes For Housing Opportunity proposal.

"The proposal does not ban developers from building parking rather it allows for more flexibility so that project managers can best meet the needs of each unique site rather than a one size fits all approach."

This quote further elaborates on the parking mandate removal, explaining that it provides flexibility rather than a complete ban, which aligns with the proposal's approach to parking.

ADU

"By allowing smaller scale housing to be built above storefronts, permitting ADUs, and simplifying the conversion of offices to residential spaces."

This quote explicitly mentions permitting ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units), which is a key element of the City of Yes For Housing Opportunity proposal.

Transit-Oriented Development

"The city of yes also promotes transit oriented development, by legalizing 3 to 5 storey apartments near public transit."

This quote directly addresses the Transit-Oriented Development element of the proposal, mentioning the legalization of 3 to 5 story apartments near public transit.

"This encourages modest housing density in the most sensible locations citywide."

This quote further elaborates on the benefits of transit-oriented development, aligning with the proposal's goals for this 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?
Carlo Casa
2:43:16
Cherodnik and members of the city planning commission.
2:43:19
My name is Carl Okasa, the director of policy and research at the New York Building Congress.
2:43:24
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
2:43:26
The building congress represents over 500 constituent organizations and over 250,000 skilled tradespeople and professionals dedicated to the growth and prosperity of our city.
2:43:38
We strongly express our support for the city of yes for housing opportunity, a rational initiative that directly addresses our housing crisis by incentivizing a little more housing in every neighborhood.
2:43:51
The city of yes is reasonable, flexible, and long overdue.
2:43:55
It incorporates critical community input from over 175 community board meetings.
2:44:01
We applaud DCP's commitment to recognizing the varying needs of each local community, and we look forward to continued community input in the future.
2:44:10
By allowing smaller scale housing to be built above storefronts, permitting ADUs, and simplifying the conversion of offices to residential spaces.
2:44:20
This policy has the potential to create over 100,000 much needed new homes.
2:44:25
The city of Yes also removes outdated parking mandates, which today, increase the cost of housing production by roughly $100,000 per parking space.
2:44:36
The proposal does not ban developers from building parking rather it allows for more flexibility so that project managers can best meet the needs of each unique site rather than a one size fits all approach.
2:44:49
This translates to more affordable housing for New Yorkers.
2:44:53
The city of yes also promotes transit oriented development, by legalizing 3 to 5 storey apartments near public transit.
2:45:00
This encourages modest housing density in the most sensible locations citywide.
2:45:05
It's good for the environment and even better for our commute.
2:45:09
I urge you to support this bold step to a future where every New Yorker has access to affordable quality housing.
2:45:17
Let's make it clear that New York says yes to innovation, yes to responsible city planning.
2:45:22
And yes to housing opportunities for all.
2:45:25
This is our moment to use zoning as a tool rather than an obstacle.
2:45:29
To meet the needs of New Yorkers today.
2:45:31
Thank you for your consideration.

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