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TESTIMONY
Testimony by Shanequa Charles from Miss Abbie's Kids on the Bronx housing crisis and proposed charter reforms
2:05:51
·
9 min
Shanequa Charles, Executive Director of Miss Abbie's Kids and a Bronx community organizer, testifies that the current NYC Charter fails Bronx residents, linking flawed land use processes (ULURP) and weak borough president powers to the borough's severe housing crisis (evictions, overcrowding, poor conditions) and related public health issues.
She advocates for charter revisions including reforming ULURP to prioritize deep affordability, eliminating member deference, strengthening borough president authority on housing matters, mandating deeper affordability targets, increasing data transparency, and dedicating funding for tenant rights and housing initiatives. Charles stresses the need to increase community power in development decisions.
- Charles connects charter sections on ULURP and BP powers to the Bronx's housing and health crises.
- She calls for reforming ULURP to expedite deeply affordable projects (<40% AMI) and give binding weight to community/BP recommendations for them.
- Advocates eliminating member deference and strengthening BP powers (task force, right-to-counsel, zoning initiation).
- Proposes mandating deep affordability percentages and detailed public reporting on housing conditions and outcomes.
- Stresses the need for dedicated funding for tenant rights and education.
Shanequa Charles
2:05:51
Hey, y'all.
2:05:55
Good evening.
2:05:56
Peace and blessings.
2:05:57
Peace and many blessings, member of the Charter Revision Committee.
2:06:01
My name is Shaniqua Charles.
2:06:02
I'm the executive director of Miss Abby's Kids, a community and legislative organizer, have served on community board seven on five or more committees, including land use and have worked on city, state, and federal legislation amongst various other roles, from the Fordham section of The Bronx.
2:06:20
I'm here today because specific sections of the New York City charter are directly contributing to what I believe is a housing crisis that our communities are facing.
2:06:31
The charter, as it stands, is failing people of The Bronx.
2:06:34
Deepest gratitude Shams the housing hero for curating spaces that include all community stakeholders and the entire Commission for holding these very necessary hearings.
2:06:48
Part of the problem connecting the charter to lived experience, if I may, while the food desert, economic stability, local hiring, community benefits agreements continue to be problematic.
2:07:05
This evening's five minute focus is going to be dedicated towards the housing issues that are plaguing us all.
2:07:12
The Bronx faces the highest rates of eviction, severe overcrowding, substandard housing conditions in New York City.
2:07:19
Families are forced to choose between rent and food.
2:07:22
Let me repeat that.
2:07:23
Families are forced to choose between rent and food, live with dangerous mold and lead, and are constantly under the threat of displacement.
2:07:34
This isn't about statistics.
2:07:36
It's
Mitchell Moss
2:07:37
about
Shanequa Charles
2:07:37
the families that miss Abby's kids has continued to serve over the last thirteen years.
2:07:41
The current charter, chapters eight and nine, ULURP subsection one nine seven c and one nine seven d and subsection 200 to two zero four, create land use review processes that are slow, complex, and give advisory power to community boards, the borough president, while city planning and city council hold a real decision making power.
2:08:04
Chapter 70, subsection eight thirteen and eight fourteen, outlining the borough president's powers provide no meaningful authority to proactively address the housing crisis or oversee proper land use rights.
2:08:18
And this is very clear from all of my time spent on land use committees of Community Board seven for many years.
2:08:28
We see consequences of this in projects like the stalled redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory, where decades of planning have yielded little to no affordable housing due to these systemic hurdles.
2:08:42
The Sherman Plaza development facing much community discourse is another example of how lengthy and complicated the ULURP process is.
2:08:51
And again, having served on Community Board seven for a number of years, the power of community members to be involved in the decision making process of potential housing development needs to absolutely be increased, particularly when we're talking about people who have been in a community, have lived in a community, raised their families in a community for decades and decades and decades.
2:09:16
Health is also impacted by these decisions that are harmful to our communities.
2:09:21
This housing crisis is a public health crisis.
2:09:24
Substandard housing directly contributes to asthma, lead poisoning, and other chronic illnesses.
2:09:31
Overcrowding increases the spread of the infectious diseases.
2:09:36
The stress of housing insecurity devastates the mental health.
2:09:39
I wanna rewind on that just for a second.
2:09:43
The stress of housing insecurity devastates mental health.
2:09:48
These health disparities concentrated in the Bronx are unacceptable, and I'm hoping that the charter chooses to address these root causes that primarily start with the housing issues.
2:10:02
Some of the proposed solutions is if we we need concrete revisions.
2:10:08
And and I'm urging the committee to consider the following because I don't come with just the problem, y'all.
2:10:13
Mama also come with a few solutions.
2:10:15
Y'all ready for that?
2:10:16
Say yes.
2:10:16
Yes.
2:10:18
I didn't hear y'all.
2:10:19
Can I get a yes?
2:10:20
Yes?
2:10:20
Okay.
2:10:21
So some of the reforms.
2:10:23
Let's try to reform the ULURP process, which earlier stated was in chapters eight and nine, and create an expedited ULURP process for projects meeting specific deep affordability criteria, such as significant percentage of units below 40% of AMI.
2:10:40
And just to interject right there momentarily, I just became aware of a bill that our sitting assembly member has passed in the last session that addresses the AMI issue.
2:10:52
And for those maybe in the audience who are not familiar with the AMI, including the richest and and and most developed counties alongside Bronxites who are making 17 to $21,000 a year.
2:11:07
To my knowledge, that has been amended.
2:11:09
So kudos to our assembly member, George Alvarez, for that.
2:11:14
Amend subsection one nine seven c and one nine seven d and give binding weight to community board and borough president recommendations on projects meeting these affordability thresholds.
2:11:25
Now, again, of course, we don't want all power being in any one particular hand.
2:11:30
But to my knowledge and being involved in different meetings and situations like this where community voices are heard, at least our voices will be heard in those atmospheres, and they should also hold weight.
2:11:43
Eliminate member deference, which we mentioned earlier, and I heard a couple of people saying a few different things about that.
2:11:49
But eliminate member deference to amend the charter to ensure that land use decisions are made based on the need rather than the preferred, the preferences of the individual council members.
2:12:00
And this change would, of course, promote equitable development, prevent localized opposition from hindering essential projects, and perhaps we should look into what could be an oversight committee for those who believe that there might not be an answer to council member deference.
2:12:19
Okay?
2:12:19
Empower the borough president in chapter 70 and subsection eight thirteen and eight fourteen so that there's some explicit authority and dedicated funding to, one, create a housing stability task force two, establish a borough wide right to counsel program.
2:12:38
I spent many years working on the right to counsel legislation some years ago.
2:12:43
It did not cover all Bronx sites.
2:12:45
It only covered particular zip codes.
2:12:50
I see some people shaking their heads.
2:12:52
I know you know what I'm talking about.
2:12:53
And three, initiate zoning changes to promote affordable housing, which we are saying that affordable housing should include multifaceted assets so that not only are people getting affordable housing, but we're also curating projects that can be sustainable to builders and such.
2:13:17
Okay?
2:13:17
Prioritize deep affordability, add a new section to the charter that requires a specific percentage of deeply affordable housing targeting the lowest income levels, and all developments receiving city subsidies and zoning changes.
2:13:32
This goes beyond the current mandatory inclusionary housing provisions.
2:13:37
Data transparency and accountability, which would amend Chapter one, subsection 14 f, which deals with agency reporting to require the collection and public reporting of detailed data on housing conditions, evictions, health outcomes related to housing, and disaggregated by neighborhood and and and demographic groups.
2:14:02
So housing is not enough to just curate the housing.
2:14:06
It we need to also be mindful that the housing needs to be safe and and that it needs to be fruitful to to the families that will be there.
2:14:15
And dedicated funding to housing initiatives, which is addressed in chapter 70 and amend subsection eight thirteen and eight fourteen to grant some explicit authority and dedicated funding again via the borough president as an avenue for housing initiatives for legal representation and education around tenants' rights.
2:14:36
In conclusion, The Bronx absolutely deserves a charter that prioritizes basic human right to safety, healthy, and affordable housing.
2:14:47
I believe that these revisions targeted specific to these sections of the New York City charter are essential to creating a more just and equitable future for our borough.
2:14:58
And I look forward to the bold and audacious changes that you all look like you are willing to make.
2:15:04
Yes, yes.
2:15:05
Thank you very much.
Richard R. Buery Jr.
2:15:06
Thank you so much.