Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.

Q&A

Commissioner Carl Weisbrod and Barbara Blair discuss enforcing fair share requirements for non-housing land uses

1:52:36

·

159 sec

Commissioner Carl Weisbrod questions Barbara Blair about the city charter's fair share requirement, which has existed since 1989 but has not worked as intended. He notes that the types of land uses Blair referred to don't lend themselves to easy equitable distribution like housing and asks if she has specific ideas for enforcing the existing requirement, whether through charter changes or legislation.

Blair responds that it needs to be part of a legislative or planning process and suggests that the current fair share concept might not cover uses subcontracted by the government. She highlights the issue of clustering services like harm reduction centers and methadone clinics, which can create negative secondary effects like attracting drug dealers, and emphasizes the need to spread these uses throughout all boroughs.

Carl Weisbrod
1:52:36
For miss Blair.
1:52:37
As you know, there's been a fair share requirement in the city charter since 1989 that has not worked as initially intended.
1:52:49
And I'm ask you, unlike housing, the kinds of uses you're you're referring to don't lend themselves to such easy, equitable housing does, fair share solutions.
1:53:06
But I'm I'm curious as to whether you have specific ideas regarding enforcing the existing fair share requirement and whether those are charter changes or legislative, I'd be interested in knowing.
Barbara Blair
1:53:23
Yeah.
1:53:24
I mean, I do really think it has to be part of a legislative or, you know, planning EULER process.
1:53:30
My understanding right now is that the concept of fair share is if government, places a social service entity in your neighborhood, so it's a government building, But government subcontracts out all these uses to contractors.
1:53:49
And those uses, you could you could have a contract with the city to provide, harm reduction or whatever it is.
1:53:57
But it's not a city run program.
1:54:00
So I think that's just one.
1:54:01
I mean, I'm not completely fluent in what the issues are vis a vis where do we cite them.
1:54:08
But I think that the idea of having some kind of a mechanism where you can't have clusters, and a good example is in our neighborhood we have several harm reduction and a methadone clinic that treats seven fifty people a day that come in to take methadone.
1:54:22
But they're also drug users.
1:54:23
And then I have, two needle exchanges right next to them.
1:54:27
What that does is it brings in all the drug dealers because you've created a marketplace.
1:54:32
So I mean, I think the idea of making sure that these uses are spread throughout all the five boroughs and all the communities, And you're not the individuals that are coming in to use these services don't live in the Garment District.
1:54:45
We don't have residents in the Garment District.
1:54:47
So they're coming from all over New York, Long Island, those sorts of things to to access the services.
1:54:53
So that that's really what I feel is that we just have to you know, whether it's some kind of quantitative limit on the number of services you can have in a neighborhood, I don't know.
1:55:06
But
Carl Weisbrod
1:55:07
Well, if you give it some thought and if you have specific ideas
Sophia Cohen
1:55:10
I will.
1:55:11
Please.
1:55:11
Thank
Barbara Blair
1:55:12
you.
1:55:12
Thank you.
Sharon Greenberger
1:55:13
Thank you both so very much.
Citymeetings.nyc pigeon logo

Is citymeetings.nyc useful to you?

I'm thrilled!

Please help me out by answering just one question.

What do you do?

Thank you!

Want to stay up to date? Sign up for the newsletter.