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TESTIMONY

Daniel Cohen from the Upper West Side on support for City of Yes and its parking mandate repeal and Single Room Occupancy (SRO) legalization

3:02:51

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90 sec

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Daniel Cohen, a resident of the Upper West Side, strongly supports the City of Yes proposal for its potential to alleviate the housing shortage and make housing more affordable in New York City. He particularly emphasizes two aspects of the proposal: the repeal of parking mandates and the legalization of Single Room Occupancies (SROs).

  • Cohen argues that repealing parking mandates is both environmentally friendly and economically progressive, as it would lower housing costs for those who don't own cars.
  • He shares his personal experience of living in an SRO when he couldn't afford a full apartment, highlighting the importance of legalizing SROs for affordable housing options.
  • Cohen urges for the passage of City of Yes in its full form without any modifications.
  • Supports City of Yes because it would make housing more affordable by alleviating the city's housing shortage
  • Strongly in favor of repealing parking mandates, which is environmentally friendly and economically progressive
  • Argues that mandatory parking increases rents for all, including those who don't own cars
  • Supports legalizing SROs (Single Room Occupancy) as an affordable housing option
  • Has personal experience living in an SRO when unable to afford a full apartment
  • Hopes City of Yes passes in its full form without any modifications

[EXPERIMENTAL]

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

  • Parking Mandates
  • 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.

Parking Mandates

"The first is repeal and parking mandates. So so not only is this environmental for environmentally friendly, it's also economically progressive."

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

"Parking spots don't get billed for free. So when we force developers to build parking, they pass on the costs in the form of higher rents."

This statement discusses the economic impact of parking mandates, which aligns with the proposal's argument for removing these mandates to reduce housing costs.

"Rechealing park park mandates is a great way to be economically progressive."

This quote, despite the typo, clearly expresses support for repealing parking mandates, which is a key aspect of the proposal.

Small and Shared Housing

"The second part that I really like is legalizing SROs, and The reason I wanted to highlight this is because I myself have lived in in an SRO in the past when I couldn't afford a full apartment to myself because the SRO was more affordable."

This quote directly addresses the proposal's element of legalizing small and shared housing, specifically mentioning SROs (Single Room Occupancy), which falls under the small and shared housing category in the City of Yes For Housing Opportunity plan.

"Legalizing SROs is a great way to add more housing that's affordable to people who let people who like myself in the past. Aren't wealthy enough to afford a full apartment to to themselves."

This statement further elaborates on the benefits of legalizing SROs, which is part of the small and shared housing element of the proposal, emphasizing its affordability aspect for those who can't afford full apartments.


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?
Daniel Cohen
3:02:51
Hi.
3:02:51
Can you hear me?
Dan Garodnick
3:02:53
We can.
Daniel Cohen
3:02:55
Hi.
3:02:56
My name is Daniel Cohen, and I live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
3:02:59
My rent is way too high, so I strongly support city of yes because it it would make housing more affordable by helping to alleviate our city or housing shortage.
3:03:08
There are two parts of the proposal that I especially like.
3:03:10
I mean, I like the whole thing.
3:03:11
But there are two parts that I really wanna highlight as being really good.
3:03:16
The first is repeal and parking mandates.
3:03:19
So so not only is this environmental for environmentally friendly, it's also economically progressive.
3:03:25
Parking spots don't get billed for free.
3:03:27
So when we force developers to build parking, they pass on the costs in the form of higher rents.
3:03:31
People who own cars would be paying for the parking anyway, but people who don't own cars cars have to pay extra rent for something they don't need.
3:03:38
And since people who don't own cars tend to be less wealthy than people who do, the ultimate economic effect is that the less wealthy are subsidizing the more wealthy.
3:03:45
Wealthy.
3:03:47
Rechealing park park mandates is a great way to be economically progressive.
3:03:51
The second part that I really like is legalizing SROs, and The reason I wanted to highlight this is because I myself have lived in in an SRO in the past when I couldn't afford a full apartment to myself because the SRO was more affordable.
3:04:03
Legalizing SROs is a great way to add more housing that's affordable to people who let people who like myself in the past.
3:04:11
Aren't wealthy enough to afford a full apartment to to themselves.
3:04:15
So thank you, and I sincerely hope that City of Yes passes it in its full form without any watering down.

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