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TESTIMONY

Robert Poole from Bronx Pro Group on City of Yes zoning reform and personal housing experience in NYC

11:29:41

·

3 min

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Robert Poole, representing Bronx Pro Group, expresses support for the City of Yes zoning reform legislation. He highlights the critical need for more affordable housing in New York City, citing the overwhelming demand for their recent Melrose North project and his personal journey through various housing situations in Manhattan.

  • Bronx Pro Group has developed over 32,100 homes and is currently constructing 600 more, serving low-income residents, seniors, and formerly homeless individuals.
  • Poole emphasizes the importance of every district contributing to addressing the housing affordability crisis, not just traditionally high-producing areas.
  • He shares his personal experience of progressing from shared living situations to now wanting to raise a family in the city, underscoring the need for diverse housing options.
  • Bronx Pro Group supports the City of Yes zoning reform legislation
  • There is a dire need for more affordable housing options in NYC
  • Their Melrose North project received 67,000 applicants for just 67 lottery units
  • Every district should help address the housing affordability crisis
  • New York is stronger when people of all economic circumstances can live here
  • Personal experience of living in various housing situations in NYC
  • City of Yes is a step in the right direction to alleviate the housing crunch
  • The legislation will help ensure young families and newcomers can make it in the city

[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 moved here 7 years ago without a job, and I found a room in a three bedroom apartment. Where I met my 2 roommates at the lease signing. And I could just barely fit a full size bed into the room without the door swinging into it."

This quote illustrates the speaker's personal experience with shared housing, which is a key component of the Small and Shared Housing element of the City of Yes proposal. The speaker describes living in a small room in a shared apartment, which aligns with the proposal's aim to re-legalize housing with shared facilities and allow for more studio and one-bedroom apartments.

"And even one of those years I lived in what you would call a modern day SRO, where at one point I had 10 roommates."

This quote directly references a 'modern day SRO' (Single Room Occupancy), which is a type of small and shared housing that the City of Yes proposal aims to re-legalize. The speaker's experience of living with 10 roommates further emphasizes the need for and existence of shared housing options in the city.

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?
Robert Poole
11:29:41
Good evening, commissioners.
11:29:43
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today, and thank you for your endurance throughout this epic hearing.
11:29:51
My name is Robert Pool, and I'm speaking on behalf of Bronx Pro Group.
11:29:55
Bronx Pro is a woman owned development company based in the Bronx.
11:29:59
It has been developing housing for low and moderate income New Yorkers since 1998.
11:30:04
Both through the preservation of existing affordable housing and new construction.
11:30:10
We developed over 32100 homes and are under construction on over 600 today.
11:30:16
Our buildings serve low income residents, seniors, and formally homeless members of our communities who are exiting the shelter system have other special needs.
11:30:26
Bronxboro supports the city of Yes Don't even reform legislation.
11:30:30
There's a dire need for more affordable housing options in our city.
11:30:35
For our Melrose North project, we are about to finish leasing, we received over 67,000 applicants or just 67 lottery units.
11:30:48
That's one thousand people for every one available unit.
11:30:53
We need to take every action available to us to help those New Yorkers attain safe, in decent housing for themselves and their families.
11:31:03
A large portion of our buildings are located in Council District 1416.
11:31:07
Which ranked 11th 6 in terms of number of affordable homes produced during the past 10 years, significantly above citywide average, according to the New York Housing Conference's tracker.
11:31:20
While we are proud to be part of communities that welcome our most vulnerable residents, We also believe every district should help address housing affordability crisis.
11:31:28
New York is a stronger and more vibrant city when people have all economic circumstances can pose a year.
11:31:35
While I am here speaking on behalf of an affordable housing developer, I also want you to keep in mind that I'm a resident in Manhattan.
11:31:43
Living in Castle District 9 in Harlem.
11:31:46
I moved here 7 years ago without a job, and I found a room in a three bedroom apartment.
11:31:51
Where I met my 2 roommates at the lease signing.
11:31:54
And I could just barely fit a full size bed into the room without the door swinging into it.
11:32:01
But I got a job at HPD, continuing to work in affordable housing, and every year I graduated up to their ladder.
11:32:10
In the the Apartment Miner, I guess.
11:32:12
And even one of those years I lived in what you would call a modern day SRO, where at one point I had 10 roommates.
11:32:20
It worked out.
11:32:21
It was a good choice.
11:32:22
And then I landed where I'm at today, where I lose my fiance, and we wanna raise a family in the city.
11:32:27
We have a kid, we want them to grow up and have a choice to live in the city.
11:32:31
But we need choices.
11:32:34
City of yes, a step in the right direction to alleviate the housing crunch and ensure young families or people just move into the city can make it here.
11:32:43
So on behalf of myself and Bronx Star Group, please support the legislation.

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