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TESTIMONY

Elizabeth Denys from Open New York on transit-oriented development, parking minimums, and accessory dwelling units in the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity initiative

0:39:54

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174 sec

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Elizabeth Denys, a board member of Open New York and resident of Flatbush, Brooklyn, expresses strong support for the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity initiative. She emphasizes the need for more affordable housing options throughout New York City and focuses on three aspects of the proposal that would significantly impact her neighborhood: transit-oriented development, lifting parking minimums, and allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

  • Denys argues that transit-oriented development and lifting parking minimums will create sustainable, walkable communities and reduce housing costs.
  • She contends that the proposed 3-5 story apartment buildings near transit are contextual with existing historic structures in Flatbush.
  • Denys advocates for ADUs as a solution to help families live closer together and provide homeowners with additional income to offset maintenance costs.
  • Support for the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity initiative
  • Concern about housing shortage and skyrocketing rents forcing people to leave the city
  • Support for transit-oriented development and lifting parking minimums
  • Support for allowing 3 to 5 story apartment buildings near transit, which are contextual with existing buildings in Flatbush
  • Support for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) as a way to add housing in lower density neighborhoods
  • ADUs can help families live closer together and provide additional income for homeowners
  • Urges approval of the proposal in its strongest possible form

[EXPERIMENTAL]

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

  • ADU
  • Parking Mandates
  • 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.

ADU

"Next, I want to speak about how accessory dwelling units are another great way to add more housing in lower density neighborhoods like mine. ADUs will help families live closer to one another by creating spaces for young adults and aging relatives, and they also help homeowners themselves creating new revenue streams to help offset increasing home maintenance costs and cover mortgage and property tax payments."

This quote directly discusses the Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) element of the proposal, highlighting its benefits for families and homeowners, which aligns with the City Planning's description of ADUs in the proposal.

"Cities and state across the country have already allowed ADUs with widespread success, and it's time for New York City to do the same."

This quote further emphasizes the speaker's support for ADUs, mentioning their success in other areas and advocating for their implementation in New York City, which is a key part of the City of Yes For Housing Opportunity proposal.

Parking Mandates

"Lifting parking minimums also helps reduce the cost of building homes and thus the resulting rents where cars aren't needed to get around."

This quote directly addresses the removal of parking mandates, which is a key element of the City of Yes For Housing Opportunity proposal. The speaker is highlighting how this change can reduce housing costs, which aligns with the proposal's goal.

Transit-Oriented Development

"Creating apartment buildings near transit is the best of new development. They create sustainable walkable communities where people don't need to own cars."

This quote directly addresses the Transit-Oriented Development element of the proposal, emphasizing the benefits of building housing near transit, which is a key aspect of the City of Yes For Housing Opportunity plan.

"Transit oriented development proposal would create modest 3 to 5 story apartment buildings, buildings that are contextual throughout Flatbush already."

This quote specifically mentions the Transit-Oriented Development proposal and describes the type of buildings it would allow, which aligns with the description in the City Planning's proposal.

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?
Elizabeth Denys
0:39:54
Hello.
0:39:55
My name is Elizabeth Denny's, and I'm a resident of Flatbush in Brooklyn, and a board member of Open New York, the grassroots pro housing organization.
0:40:01
I'm here today because I am worried my family, friends, and neighbors will be forced to leave the city due to our dire housing shortage and skyrocketing rents.
0:40:09
When I moved into my own place here after college in 2011, I was immediately rent burden for living alone.
0:40:14
Many of my friends lived with many roommates often in text homes often with people they've never met.
0:40:18
These homes usually should be for families.
0:40:20
Over a decade later, I'm incredibly fortunate to have stable housing as a homeowner with my husband, majority of my friends are struggling to find family sized housing they can afford in the city.
0:40:29
We're all really worried about whether our children will be able to find places to live here.
0:40:33
I'm really excited about the entirety of the city of yes for housing opportunity initiative, and I urge the city planning commission to approve this proposal in its strongest possible form.
0:40:42
For too long, a few neighborhoods have borne the brunt of the crucial task of adding homes to new in New York City, and city of Yass is a tangible proposal to ensure that every neighborhood starts producing more homes of all types.
0:40:53
Each of these proposals in the city of yes for housing opportunity are needed every one of them to make sure that New Yorkers can find more affordable housing options throughout the city, particularly in their own neighborhoods.
0:41:03
I'm gonna focus on the three topics that affect my neighborhood of Flatbush the most.
0:41:06
First, I wanna speak about transitory into development and lifting parking minimums.
0:41:10
Creating apartment buildings near transit is the best of new development.
0:41:13
They create sustainable walkable communities where people don't need to own cars.
0:41:16
Owning and maintaining a car is a huge expense.
0:41:18
Many can't afford, and these transitory into to at homes will become excellent options for people in all stages of life to live car free like I do.
0:41:25
Homes, my future children can move into when they grow up, and homes for my husband and I to downsize you later in life.
0:41:31
Lifting parking minimums also helps reduce the cost of building homes and thus the resulting rents where cars aren't needed to get around.
0:41:38
Transit oriented development proposal would create modest 3 to 5 story apartment buildings, buildings that are contextual throughout Flatbush already.
0:41:44
The historic single family homes in Victorian Flatbush are mostly three stories tall, and there are already many equally historic six story apartment buildings bigger than the proposal would have.
0:41:53
Scattered among them.
0:41:54
Buildings like 1409 Albemarle Road, 400 Rugby Road, 405 Westminster Road, 625 Marble Road.
0:42:00
Many of these buildings and others like them couldn't be built under today zoning and bringing back modest apartment buildings near train stations in our community is the perfect way to fix our housing crisis.
0:42:09
Next, I want to speak about how accessory dwelling units are another great way to add more housing in lower density neighborhoods like mine.
0:42:15
ADUs will help families live closer to one another by creating spaces for young adults and aging relatives, and they also help homeowners themselves creating new revenue streams to help offset increasing home maintenance costs and cover mortgage and property tax payments.
0:42:28
This is especially relevant in my area where our seventy to a hundred and ten year old housing doc is increasingly costing their owners more and more to maintain.
0:42:35
Cities and state across the country have already allowed ADUs with widespread success, and it's time for New York City to do the same.
0:42:41
Thank you to the CPC for giving me the opportunity to speak, and I hope you will all support this important initiative in its strongest possible form.

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