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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Yaacov Behrman, Former Member of Brooklyn Community Board 9
1:05:12
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131 sec
Yaacov Behrman, a former member of Brooklyn Community Board 9, provided testimony regarding a recent zoning application and the community board's decision-making process. He highlighted the strong but divided support for the application within the Land Use Committee and expressed concerns about the handling of the final resolution presented to the full board.
- The Land Use Committee was split between those supporting full zoning change with affordable housing and those opposing all residential development.
- Behrman criticized the introduction of a new, unapproved resolution at a special board meeting, which he deemed improper.
- He urged the city council to disregard Community Board 9's resolution and instead review the minutes of the committee meetings.
Yaacov Behrman
1:05:12
Thank you so much.
1:05:13
First of all, I'm sorry for not being there in person.
1:05:15
We are expecting a mazel tov, so I'm staying close to home.
1:05:19
I served nearly ten years in Committee Board nine.
1:05:22
I recently resigned, including five years on the Land Use Committee.
1:05:27
We met twice regarding this application.
1:05:29
The first meeting ran till about eleven p.
1:05:31
M.
1:05:32
In all my years on the Committee on the Board, I've never seen such strong committee support for any application.
1:05:39
Half the committee backed the full zoning change and development as long as it's included a substantial percentage of affordable housing.
1:05:46
The other half opposed all residential development, honoring the city's affordability options aren't affordable enough and we have to impose all development including this one.
1:05:56
But interestingly, everybody supported the commercial part of the project.
1:05:59
Since we couldn't agree, I mean half the committee was against all development, the other half wanted affordable, We came to consensus that we're going to write a resolution and we made it clear in the resolution the opposition against the project was because the committee didn't believe there's enough affordability citywide, not just for this project and that we would support the commercial part.
1:06:21
At a full board meeting, which was a special meeting, the Land Use Committee Chair introduced an entirely new resolution, drastically changing the language and raising objections about shadows on parking lots.
1:06:33
There was no notice.
1:06:34
I had never seen this resolution before.
1:06:36
It was a special meeting.
1:06:37
The other resolutions were shared.
1:06:39
This one wasn't, and I made it clear that it was improper, especially since it's a special meeting.
1:06:43
Most of the many many members of the board were new and didn't know what was going on.
1:06:48
And at the next land use meeting, the committee unanimously voted to bar any future unapproved resolutions and criticized the chair for this conduct.
1:06:58
Nobody knows where this resolution came from.
1:07:01
So firstly, I urge the city council disregard community board nine's resolution because it does not reflect what actually transpired or happened.
1:07:09
Instead to look at the minutes of the committee meetings that something like six hours of of meeting.
1:07:15
I also resigned Alright.
Eli Gewirtz
1:07:16
Make sense.
Yaacov Behrman
1:07:16
After ten years because I'm not gonna leave my family for six hours to have one person undo the committee's work.
1:07:23
Thank you.