Gabriel Dougherty
8:21:14
My name is Gabriel Daugherty, and I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
8:21:18
Today, I will be speaking in favor of city of yes for housing opportunity, specifically the provision to relax the dwelling unit factor.
8:21:26
That's more commonly known as, like, the provision that enables single room occupancy units, but I'll refer to it here as, like, the dwelling unit factor thing.
8:21:35
This change to the zoning tax would allow for more flexible housing such as units where you pay for the room but have shared kitchen and bathrooms.
8:21:43
This can provide a cheaper, more accessible option for shared housing.
8:21:47
So to put this in context, 2 years ago, I used to live in a 3 bedroom in Brooklyn with roommates.
8:21:53
That roommate situation quickly turned sour.
8:21:56
It didn't work out, and I had to leave on short notice because I was subletting.
8:22:00
It was too short notice.
8:22:01
For me to find another set of roommates.
8:22:03
So I ended up moving to a studio that I didn't like and I could barely afford.
8:22:09
I've since left that left that studio for a two bedroom with a roommate but it leaves me thinking, had this proposed solution been implemented?
8:22:19
The this proposed relaxation of the dwelling factor would have helped me out.
8:22:23
First, it would have allowed me to find similar housing on short notice with a shared kitchen and bathroom.
8:22:30
Just like I had with the strangers in my three bedroom.
8:22:34
2nd, this flexible kind of housing likely would have been a better option for me in the first place than shacking up with 2 other roommates like I said that I met on the Internet and didn't really know, and this is a common situation nowadays.
8:22:48
Lastly, folks have been talking about building families in New York.
8:22:53
Me living in a three bedroom with roommates as I did then, or a two bedroom with a roommate as I do now puts pressure on the price of these apartments that are so very needed by families.
8:23:02
Flexible housing provides a real alternative that could relieve this pressure.
8:23:06
So in conclusion, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today.
8:23:10
And I encourage you to support city of yes for housing opportunity in full.
