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PUBLIC TESTIMONY

Testimony by Matthew Wagman on Arrow Linen Rezoning and Housing Crisis

3:18:00

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107 sec

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Matthew Wagman, a young resident of Windsor Terrace, advocates for the Arrow Linen rezoning on Prospect Avenue and addresses the severe housing crisis in New York City. He presents statistics on rising housing costs, low vacancy rates, and high median rents in the area to support his argument for increased housing construction.

Wagman emphasizes the need for building more housing to meet existing demand, citing a study that links increased housing units to decreased local rents and small business growth.
He argues that Windsor Terrace has the amenities and quality of life to support more housing, which could benefit the community by supporting small businesses and improving transit services.
Wagman urges the City Council to approve the Arrow Linen rezoning project, stating that it's an opportunity to add housing without impacting existing homes, and asks them not to let perfect be the enemy of good in solving the housing crisis.

Matthew Wagman

3:18:00

Hello.

3:18:00

My name is Matthew Wagman.

3:18:02

I'm not here to represent any formal group, but rather the interests of young people like myself.

3:18:06

For our future, I'm advocating for the Arrow Linen rezoning on Prospect Avenue and any opportunity to ease the housing crisis.

3:18:13

I grew up in Windsor Terrace, and I don't know if I'll be able to afford to continue to live there even in New York City at all.

3:18:19

Here are some publicly available statistics which underscore the severity of the situation.

3:18:23

I will be happy to share my source with anyone who's interested.

3:18:26

Brooklyn housing crisis are up around 60% in the last decade, doubled to roughly 30% CPI inflation rate.

3:18:32

The citywide vacancy rate this year is 1.4%, the lowest it has been at 50 years and less than half of what it was pre pandemic.

3:18:39

In our neighborhood, the median rent within a half mile of the 15th Street Station is now $3,355 for a 1 bedroom.

3:18:46

That is roughly 5% higher than last year and only affordable to someone making about a 120% of the area median income or over a $130,000 for a single person.

3:18:55

The only way to address this crisis is to build enough housing to meet the existing demand.

3:18:59

According to a study by NYU and Fannie Mae on the NYC housing market, every 10% increase in housing units decreases local rents by 1% over the next 5 years and also spurs an increase in small business openings.

3:19:12

Windsor Terrace both desperately needs new housing and has the amenities and quality of life to support it.

3:19:16

With more housing, we can support more small businesses, have more leverage to demand, improve transit service to schools, and keep the neighborhood affordable to long time residents.

3:19:24

This project is the best opportunity to build in our community.

3:19:27

The property is currently a blight on the neighborhood, and converting it to housing will allow us to meet demand without impacting existing homes.

3:19:33

While it would be amazing if there are more affordable units in this project, the bottom line is that we need as many units as we can get out of such a good opportunity.

3:19:40

I humbly request that the city council not let the perfect be the enemy of the good and continue to approve new housing construction so we can solve the housing crisis.

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