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Q&A
Commissioners discuss housing policy, infrastructure commitments, and accountability with Council Member Sanchez
1:37:12
·
3 min
Commissioner Shams DaBaron commends Council Member Pierina Sanchez for her testimony and service.
Commissioner Leila Bozorg praises Council Member Pierina Sanchez's housing leadership and seeks further input on balancing citywide needs with local decision-making.
Commissioner Carl Weisbrod questions Council Member Sanchez on enforcing administrative commitments for infrastructure to parallel housing growth.
Council Member Sanchez suggests immediate budget and capital plan inclusion for such agreements and proposes empowering neighborhood entities for ongoing accountability, referencing the JARC's work on Jerome Avenue.
- Sanchez advocates for "points of agreement" to be immediately reflected in the city's expense budget and its five to ten-year capital plan by agency.
- She suggests empowering neighborhood entities, possibly even formally charging community boards, to hold administrations accountable.
- The Jerome Avenue Revitalization Collaborative (JARC) is highlighted as an example of an entity that consistently advocates for administrative accountability regarding commitments to local businesses.
Shams DaBaron
1:37:12
I just wanted to, one, commend you, councilwoman, for bringing that up, and I appreciate your service as well.
1:37:24
So all I wanted to ask is if you were submitting your testimony in writing also and had other information that I could look at, specifically, and I would appreciate it.
Mary Fridley
1:37:40
Thank you.
1:37:40
Okay.
Pierina Sanchez
1:37:43
Yes.
1:37:44
Thank you, and great to see
Lincoln Restler
1:37:45
you soon.
Randy Peers
1:37:45
Thank you.
Leila Bozorg
1:37:48
Hi, council member.
1:37:49
Thanks for your testimony.
1:37:50
I also just wanted to thank you for your leadership on all housing issues from all the various seats you've held and really think that we had if all council members kind of approached projects in their district as you had, we wouldn't be probably in the situation we're in of having to find ways to kind of balance these citywide and borough wide perspectives with the practice of kind of hyper local decision making.
1:38:16
You mentioned a couple of ways that you think that this balance can be struck.
1:38:21
And I'm curious if you think the, you know, the fair housing framework with teeth or these fast tracks.
1:38:28
If in follow-up testimony, if there's any other avenues you've heard of that you think are compelling ways to kind of strike this balance, we really welcome that testimony.
1:38:37
I think some of the ideas you raised are really interesting and would love to kind of continue hearing from you and your constituents on the best way to strike this balance, given that we know it's a severe need.
Sharon Greenberger
1:38:46
Thank you.
1:38:49
And, Carl?
Carl Weisbrod
1:38:52
Thank you, council member, for your testimony.
1:38:54
I, I was particularly struck by, and this has been an ongoing problem for decades, of administration after administration failing to meet commitments that they make with regard to points of agreement and for infrastructure to be run parallel to housing growth.
1:39:18
And I'm just curious as to whether you have any recommendations regarding enforcement of that.
Sharon Greenberger
1:39:27
Yeah.
Pierina Sanchez
1:39:29
No.
1:39:30
I'm kidding.
1:39:30
I'm kidding.
1:39:33
That's a that's an excellent question.
1:39:35
I mean, points of agreement should be immediately sort of, codified is not the right word, but included in the in the budget.
1:39:46
Right?
1:39:46
So in the expense budget and then in the, you know, five, ten year capital plan that the city has, by agency.
1:39:54
That wasn't immediate immediately the case for for many of these commitments.
1:40:00
We were told that when the time comes, we'll we'll see it reflected sort of thing.
1:40:04
So I think that's that's one area.
1:40:07
And then, you know, I it's it's accountability.
1:40:10
Right?
1:40:10
So, maybe it's a matter of empowering and empowering assigning, empowering, and then charging neighborhood in organ organisms.
1:40:21
It's a thing in Spanish, but neighborhood entities that are responsible for holding the administration accountable.
1:40:28
Right?
1:40:28
So one reason that, you know, this this Jerome commitment for the automotive businesses on Jerome is so top of mind for me is because we have the JARC, and the JARC is constantly bringing this up, constantly saying we need to the administration needs to be held accountable.
1:40:43
Right?
1:40:44
But they aren't a formal government entity.
1:40:46
It's not a charge of the community.
1:40:47
Maybe we charge the community boards with this.
1:40:49
I'm not sure.
1:40:50
But, you know, maybe another way to to sort of diffuse the accountability and and make sure that there's more entities chiming in.
Carl Weisbrod
1:40:59
Thank you.
1:41:00
And and any further suggestions as you think about this reinforcement met mechanisms, I think, charter or otherwise, I would appreciate.
1:41:11
Thank