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Q&A
Addressing resistant districts and potential legislative reforms
0:18:52
·
3 min
Commissioner Diane Savino asks Majority Leader Amanda Farias how to overcome resistance to housing development in certain council districts to meet citywide goals, acknowledging member deference is inherent.
Savino suggests pursuing legislative fixes for process delays like pre-certification, citing the lengthy Bronx Metro North project timeline.
Farias agrees to explore legislative solutions and adds that balancing housing needs requires considering the distribution of shelters and transitional housing, and utilizing city-owned assets more effectively.
Diane Savino
0:18:52
Good evening, councilwoman.
0:18:55
So I I think in a couple of the hearings, we've heard people talk about the issue of member deference.
0:19:00
Now we honestly know that we couldn't legislate away member deference.
0:19:03
We couldn't include it in the charter or exclude it in the charter because it's the way the legislative body works.
0:19:07
It's whether it's the New York City Council, the state legislature, or congress.
0:19:12
You know, having the respect of your colleagues and being able to support each other on these things makes the makes the, you know, the world turn.
0:19:19
But what do we do?
0:19:20
It's been said that if every council district created 5,000 units of housing, we could solve the housing crisis that New York City faces.
0:19:27
But we know that not every district, for some council members, the creation of 500 units of housing is catastrophic to them, where others are doing 20,000 units.
0:19:38
How do we break that so that we can find a way to actually achieve the stated goals of creating the amount of affordable housing that we need, and protecting, you know, the relationship that local elected officials have with the people who sent them to make those decisions for them.
0:19:53
So you mentioned a few things in your testimony about making some potential changes to the certification process and to the approval process.
0:20:01
Why not move that forward through the legislative process and not just wait for us to do something in the Charter Revision Commission and work together on that?
0:20:08
Because you're right.
0:20:08
When you mentioned the Metro North train station project, that project, that discussion started twelve years ago.
0:20:16
Twelve years ago.
0:20:17
It should not take twelve years to get to the point where you finally approved it as the representative from your district.
0:20:23
So how do we break those logjams?
0:20:25
It's not just the ULURP process, which shouldn't be a one size fits all.
0:20:28
You shouldn't need a ULURP for a five story building and a 60 story building.
0:20:32
Right?
0:20:32
We can probably agree on that.
0:20:33
But what what steps do you think could be taken at the legislative level that would help support whatever efforts we're doing here?
0:22:25
Thank you.
Amanda Farias
0:20:40
Well, I'd love to keep the conversation going on the legislative items, and I'm happy to take these these specific recommendations to the legislative division to see what the council can draft up.
0:20:49
And I'm happy to prime on those bills and work with you folks on it.
0:20:53
The the initial thought that came to mind on finding the spaces or the communities that can take on whether it's 5,500, or 5,000.
0:21:02
We also have a bunch of housing stock that isn't necessarily housing stock.
0:21:06
Right?
0:21:07
We have transitional housing.
0:21:08
We have the stabilization housing.
0:21:10
We have folks that are in shelters.
0:21:12
I think some of that burden in the conversation that comes with whether or not ULURP's come up and where we place different housing spaces also looks at also deals with looking at which communities are taking the burden of some of these larger shelters or transitional housing hubs that are not getting housing opportunities for their local members, too.
0:21:37
So I think there's a whole host of things we could be working at as a city on how to stabilize New Yorkers and offer real housing opportunities for them.
0:21:46
I think looking at DHS and the contracts we have and maybe even the properties that the city owns, our own assets, and what can be, you know, transitioned or changed into housing.
0:21:57
I know we're approved that and going through all of that notion as well.
0:22:00
There's a lot of areas, too, that are not getting housing opportunities despite other areas that could even build a small shelter where those areas are not getting anything.
0:22:10
And so I think we really need to talk about balancing of the scales and looking at what communities can take on what responsibility for all of New York, not just who can build the housing.
0:22:24
It's all of it together.