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TESTIMONY

Charles Ny from Community Board 5 on housing needs for low-income and disabled individuals

14:18:29

·

3 min

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Charles Ny, a blind member of Community Board 5 who relies on welfare, SSI, Medicaid, and food stamps, expresses concern about the lack of adequate housing options for low-income and disabled individuals. He opposes the current plan and calls for more outreach and inclusion of impoverished voices in housing design and decision-making processes.

  • Highlights the limitations of his current subsidized housing, describing it as a 'shoebox' with minimal amenities
  • Suggests that poor living conditions contribute to environmental depression and relapse among residents
  • Criticizes the lack of engagement with impoverished individuals in housing conversations and design processes
  • Advocates for better housing standards, such as one-bedroom apartments instead of Single Room Occupancy (SRO)-style accommodations
  • Lack of adequate housing solutions for people with disabilities and low incomes
  • Current subsidized housing (SRO) is insufficient and potentially harmful to mental health
  • Need for more outreach and inclusion of impoverished individuals in housing design and decision-making
  • Criticism of current affordable housing standards and desire for better living conditions (e.g., one-bedroom apartments instead of SROs)
  • Lack of engagement from housing advocacy groups (like Open New York) with individuals in need
  • Call for more comprehensive outreach and planning before implementing the proposed plan

[EXPERIMENTAL]

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

  • Small and Shared Housing

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.

Small and Shared Housing

"I guess you could call it SRO, and there's no you know, I believe that we should try to help people who are impoverished to have some sort of better standard of living than just be stuck in a an apartment. That really isn't an apartment. It's more like a shoe box with no oven, just a hot plate. And under the counter fridge to, you know, deal with."

This quote discusses the speaker's current living situation in what they refer to as an SRO (Single Room Occupancy), which is a type of small and shared housing. The speaker criticizes the living conditions, which relates to the City of Yes proposal's aim to improve and relegalize certain types of small and shared housing.

"But I do think this SRO star of housing is is not great. I do believe it would be nice if people could have a a one bedroom apartment, you know, because when if someone came to visit me, when they open the door, they see my bed. I mean, that's unacceptable. You know, it really should be the fact that someone comes in, and I can take them into, like, a living room situation."

This quote directly addresses the small and shared housing aspect of the proposal. The speaker expresses dissatisfaction with SRO-style housing and advocates for larger units like one-bedroom apartments. This relates to the City of Yes proposal's aim to allow for a variety of housing types, including studios and one-bedrooms, which the speaker seems to prefer over their current SRO-style living situation.


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?
Charles Ny
14:18:29
Oh, sorry.
14:18:30
Sorry about that.
14:18:31
Hi.
14:18:31
I'm I'm blind.
14:18:32
Sorry.
14:18:33
I use a assistive technology.
14:18:35
Sorry about that.
14:18:36
So I'm a blind person.
14:18:39
I'm a member of Community Board 5.
14:18:41
My thoughts on my own, my opinions on my own.
14:18:45
I'm also on welfare, SSI, Medicaid, and food stamps.
14:18:50
Of concern that not more is being done to help people with not only disabilities, but people on thing comes like SSI to improve their living situations.
14:19:02
I'm in subsidized housing.
14:19:05
I guess you could call it SRO, and there's no you know, I believe that we should try to help people who are impoverished to have some sort of better standard of living than just be stuck in a an apartment.
14:19:23
That really isn't an apartment.
14:19:24
It's more like a shoe box with no oven, just a hot plate.
14:19:28
And under the counter fridge to, you know, deal with.
14:19:34
I do believe that people can suffer with environmental depression.
14:19:38
And I do believe that people in my building do relapse because they're not giving enough support and help.
14:19:44
And I do think there should be a rethink about how we help people like myself in this welfare system.
14:19:53
And I do believe that, unfortunately, I I feel like there's not been enough outreach to people who are impoverished to be a part of the conversation.
14:20:03
Not only be a part of the conversation, but why can't we be part the the whole design and give input onto what kind of housing we want.
14:20:11
Right?
14:20:11
Because, unfortunately, I feel like and no offense.
14:20:14
And I do apologize.
14:20:15
I'm not trying to be rude.
14:20:16
I feel like there there are those who are have not struggled and not being through the welfare system who are making decisions on what they think people like myself should want from affordable housing, what what they think someone like myself should need.
14:20:31
And I feel like the voice has been not heard.
14:20:38
So I really hope more could be done.
14:20:41
I really pleased that something is being done, but I think more should be done.
14:20:45
Unfortunately, I am opposed to this plan as it stands at the moment.
14:20:49
I do feel like more outreach needs to be done.
14:20:53
And if that could be done, that would be great.
14:20:57
And, you know, and it goes to show, unfortunately, on my community board, we have lobbyist from Open New York, and not one of those Open New York people have ever spoken to me about how they could help me to have a better standard of housing.
14:21:14
But I do think this SRO star of housing is is not great.
14:21:20
I do believe it would be nice if people could have a a one bedroom apartment, you know, because when if someone came to visit me, when they open the door, they see my bed.
14:21:30
I mean, that's unacceptable.
14:21:32
You know, it really should be the fact that someone comes in, and I can take them into, like, a living room situation.
14:21:38
Instead of, you know sorry.
14:21:41
My time's running out.
14:21:42
Anyway, I think you get what I mean, and thank you for all the hard work you're doing, and I greatly appreciate it.
14:21:47
Thank you.

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