Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
REMARKS
Diane Savino on the challenges of housing development timelines and public engagement
0:26:31
·
178 sec
Commissioner Diane Savino brings her extensive experience as a former State Senator and previous Executive Director of a Charter Revision Commission.
She shares her personal experience with housing affordability challenges and highlights the excessively long timelines often involved in zoning and development, hindering housing production. Savino anticipates significant public engagement, noting New Yorkers' desire for better government and their eagerness to share diverse opinions.
Richard R. Buery Jr.
0:26:31
Next, it's my honor to introduce senator Diane Savino, who currently served as senior adviser at city hall, focusing on state and city legislative issues, bring the pre a very unique, experience to this work having previously served as executive director of the twenty twenty four Charter Revision Commission.
0:26:47
From 02/2005 to 02/2022, the senator Diane Savino represented, in the state senate, north and East Shore of the lawn of Staten Island and portions of Southern Brooklyn.
0:26:58
I had the chance to work closely with her in her office when I served as a CEO of the Children of Aid Society.
0:27:04
Senator Sabino, I'd love to have you answer your remarks.
Diane Savino
0:27:08
Thank you.
0:27:08
It is a an honor and a privilege to sit here with so many of you who have such wealth of experience in policy making to improve the lives and conditions of New Yorkers.
0:27:18
I've as you pointed out, Richard, you and I did a lot of work when you were a children's aid, and I was in the senate.
0:27:23
But, you know, I think about, my own experience in life.
0:27:25
Like Grace, I was born and raised in Queens.
0:27:27
Alright.
0:27:28
And I no longer say that's the best because they're all the best borough.
0:27:30
New York City's an amazing place.
0:27:32
But I wound up twenty three and a half years ago having to move to Staten Island because opportunities for homeownership for a for a a person like myself did not exist in Queens at that point.
0:27:44
Shortly after that, never realizing I was gonna run for senate, I found I found myself representing the North And East Shores of Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn.
0:27:52
And during the time I was in the senate in, in Brooklyn working with the local councilman and the then mayor Bloomberg, we rezoned all of Coney Island to lead to massive development.
0:28:03
Well, here we are in 2025, and some of those developments have still not started.
0:28:08
Mhmm.
0:28:09
It has taken almost fifteen years for a rezoning to come to fruition.
0:28:14
It just takes too long.
0:28:16
That's one of the challenges that we face with how how do we provide housing for New Yorkers at every level of our economy.
0:28:22
It oftentimes just takes too long, and we're not producing the kind of housing that people need.
0:28:27
You know?
0:28:27
The whether it's the policies that put in place four twenty one a and how do we how do we mix, you know, high income and and and affordability.
0:28:36
These are challenges that we need to take on.
0:28:38
So I'm really excited about this, but I will just say as the previous executive director of the Charter Revision Commission, I think you said it, Richard.
0:28:46
We have 8,000,000 New Yorkers.
0:28:48
They have 80,000,000 opinions.
0:28:50
You're gonna hear them.
0:28:51
The people are gonna come forward, and they're gonna put things on our table that we had not anticipated, because New Yorkers are really engaged in trying to improve their government.
0:29:00
We saw it last year.
0:29:01
Hundreds of people turned out for the Charter Revision Commission.
0:29:04
And in fact, when the voters saw what was put before them, they overwhelmingly passed the questions.
0:29:11
So New Yorkers want a better government.
0:29:12
They want a better product, and they're gonna wanna participate.
0:29:15
So I'm looking forward to this experience as a commissioner.
0:29:18
It'll be a lot more fun
Richard R. Buery Jr.
0:29:19
than being the
Diane Savino
0:29:19
executive director.
0:29:20
Sorry, Alec.
0:29:22
But I think we're gonna I think we're gonna come out with a product that makes New York a better place for all New Yorkers.
0:29:27
Thank you.
Richard R. Buery Jr.
0:29:28
Thank you so much, Dan.