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TESTIMONY
Testimony by Christie Peale from the Center for New York City Neighborhoods on comprehensive planning and affordable homeownership
3:25:28
·
3 min
Christie Peale, CEO of the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, testifies in support of affordable homeownership and community stability.
She endorses comprehensive planning for proactive infrastructure investment, especially in historic homeownership areas, to support new housing and address climate risks.
Peale also supports streamlining ULURP for deeply affordable housing, enforcing the fair housing framework, and addressing delays in city contract execution with nonprofits, suggesting charter reform could allow charging fees for late payments.
Christie Peale
3:25:28
Okay.
3:25:30
Good evening, everybody.
3:25:31
Thank you, commissioners and chair, for, your service and your robust, conversation and engagement with the hearing tonight And for the opportunity to testify, I'm CEO and executive director of the Center for New York City Neighborhoods.
3:25:48
We promote and protect affordable homeownership so that working and middle class New York families can build strong, stable communities.
3:25:56
You've heard a lot of, great suggestions tonight, but I wanted to highlight a couple.
3:26:04
Taking off, some of the, recommendations from the thriving communities coalition around a comprehensive citywide planning framework.
3:26:13
I think it's really important to be able to proactively invest infrastructure in neighborhoods, especially the neighborhoods that have been a home to a historically black and Latino homeownership with the infrastructure investments that they need to be able to receive more housing.
3:26:31
I think communities want more affordable homeownership.
3:26:33
They want more housing.
3:26:34
They want multifamily homeownership, and they want the the investment in their, sewer system.
3:26:41
They want, to be able to move away from a combined water, and sewer, system to be able to support new housing.
3:26:48
They want the transportation opportunities and a comprehensive citywide planning process with real, short, medium, and long term targets and accountability, as Michelle mentioned, would be a real way to, put that commitment in action and plan for the investments in communities alongside the plan for new housing.
3:27:09
And, again, in a way to, address citywide needs.
3:27:13
We think this is the only way that we're gonna be able to develop more affordable homeownership by getting more communities, on board with more housing.
3:27:24
We also think it's critical to be, proactively doing citywide community, citywide comprehensive planning to address the real risk of the climate crisis.
3:27:37
A lot of the neighborhoods that were hit by the foreclosure crisis where we'd we've done a lot of our work are are impacted by climate climate change with groundwater flooding, rainfall flooding, and obviously sea level rise.
3:27:51
And, again, we need to be able to plan for the impacts of climate change on these neighborhoods while also understanding that we need new housing.
3:27:58
We talked about the ways, to streamline EULIP for deeply affordable housing.
3:28:03
I think that makes a lot of sense.
3:28:05
I think the fair housing framework needs to be enforced and needs to have teeth.
3:28:08
I think that makes a lot of sense.
3:28:11
And commissioner White will not be surprised to hear me talk about the need for the timely execution of housing contracts.
3:28:18
We, we know that the, nonprofit sector is essentially financing the government to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of multiple years.
3:28:27
And I think charter reform and revision would allow us to charge the city financing fees and late fees for the amount that we need to front the city to perform our services on behalf of New Yorkers.
3:28:40
So, we'll we'll submit a more comprehensive, testimony.
3:28:43
Thank you for extending the time of the hearing tonight and, your service, and I look forward to being in touch.
Richard R. Buery Jr.
3:28:51
Thank you so much.