Council Member Joann Ariola on opposition to City of Yes for Housing Opportunity initiative
0:49:51
·
3 min
Council Member Joann Ariola expresses strong opposition to the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity initiative in its current form, arguing that it would negatively impact the quality of life in suburban communities and remove community input from development decisions. She calls for smart, sustainable development that preserves neighborhood character while addressing housing needs.
- Ariola emphasizes the need to protect residential areas where people have invested their life savings
- She warns that the initiative could empower large developers at the expense of small businesses and homeowners
- The Council Member advocates for maintaining community board input via ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) rather than transferring decision-making solely to government
- The City of Yes would be an unmitigated disaster in its current form
- Current building regulations exist to protect quality of life
- Homeowners deserve to raise families in the environment they bought into
- The proposal would devastate quality of life for many taxpayers and residents
- It would eliminate community input via ULURP
- It favors large developers over small businesses and homeowners
- New Yorkers deserve a say in their neighborhoods
- Advocating for smart, sustainable development that doesn't destroy suburban community character
- Concerns about preserving one and two-family homes and mom-and-pop shops
- Not opposed to creating more housing, but wants it done in a smarter and more sustainable manner
[EXPERIMENTAL]
Which elements of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity were discussed in this testimony?
- Town Center Zoning
- 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.
Town Center Zoning
"It opens the door for large developers to travel across small businesses and homeowners."
While not explicitly mentioning town center zoning, this quote suggests concerns about the impact on small businesses and homeowners, which relates to the Town Center Zoning element that aims to create mixed-use neighborhoods with businesses and housing.
"And would turn this city into a place where only the interest of those who had the money to to build and self serve their own interests while other community members like mom and pop shops, would see their their voices suddenly suppressed."
This quote directly mentions 'mom and pop shops', which is relevant to the Town Center Zoning element that aims to support small businesses in commercial corridors. The speaker expresses concern about the potential negative impact on these small businesses.
Small and Shared Housing
"But there are other suburban communities throughout the borough of Queens and throughout the Five boroughs. Where people bought because they are in 1 and 2 family homes."
This quote indirectly relates to the Small and Shared Housing element by emphasizing the speaker's preference for low-density housing (1 and 2 family homes) in contrast to the proposal's aim to allow more diverse housing types, including small and shared housing.
"But as I said, we're not we're not opposed to to creating more housing. We just wanted to be done in a more in a smarter and more sustainable manner."
While not explicitly mentioning small and shared housing, this quote acknowledges the need for more housing but expresses concerns about the proposed approach, which could include the reintroduction of small and shared housing units.
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.
Follow-up discussion/remarks
City Planning Commission chair questions Council Member Ariola on affordable housing data and building heights
0:53:19
·
140 sec
Chair Dan Garodnick engages Council Member Joann Ariola in a follow-up discussion about affordable housing production and building heights in her district. He references a housing tracker report and questions her stance on three-story buildings.
- Garodnick mentions that Ariola's district (32nd Council District) has one of the lowest rates of affordable housing production according to the New York Housing Conference report.
- Ariola disagrees with the report's findings, citing co-ops in her district as affordable housing options not included in the data.
- The discussion touches on the definition of 'mega structures' and Ariola's concerns about three-story buildings next to one- and two-family homes.
- The City of Yes would be an unmitigated disaster in its current form
- Current building regulations exist to protect quality of life
- Homeowners deserve to raise families in the environment they bought into
- The proposal would devastate quality of life for many taxpayers and residents
- It would eliminate community input via ULURP
- It favors large developers over small businesses and homeowners
- New Yorkers deserve a say in their neighborhoods
- Advocating for smart, sustainable development that doesn't destroy suburban community character
- Concerns about preserving one and two-family homes and mom-and-pop shops
- Not opposed to creating more housing, but wants it done in a smarter and more sustainable manner
[EXPERIMENTAL]
Which elements of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity were discussed in this testimony?
- Town Center Zoning
- 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.
Town Center Zoning
"It opens the door for large developers to travel across small businesses and homeowners."
While not explicitly mentioning town center zoning, this quote suggests concerns about the impact on small businesses and homeowners, which relates to the Town Center Zoning element that aims to create mixed-use neighborhoods with businesses and housing.
"And would turn this city into a place where only the interest of those who had the money to to build and self serve their own interests while other community members like mom and pop shops, would see their their voices suddenly suppressed."
This quote directly mentions 'mom and pop shops', which is relevant to the Town Center Zoning element that aims to support small businesses in commercial corridors. The speaker expresses concern about the potential negative impact on these small businesses.
Small and Shared Housing
"But there are other suburban communities throughout the borough of Queens and throughout the Five boroughs. Where people bought because they are in 1 and 2 family homes."
This quote indirectly relates to the Small and Shared Housing element by emphasizing the speaker's preference for low-density housing (1 and 2 family homes) in contrast to the proposal's aim to allow more diverse housing types, including small and shared housing.
"But as I said, we're not we're not opposed to to creating more housing. We just wanted to be done in a more in a smarter and more sustainable manner."
While not explicitly mentioning small and shared housing, this quote acknowledges the need for more housing but expresses concerns about the proposed approach, which could include the reintroduction of small and shared housing units.
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.