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TESTIMONY
Testimony by Vishnu Reddy on housing production, electoral reform, and EV charging infrastructure
2:19:20
·
134 sec
Vishnu Reddy expresses gratitude for the discussion on housing underproduction and electoral reform, supporting many of the commission's proposals in these areas. He specifically advocates for fast-tracking land use review for modest changes, consolidating advisory portions of ULURP, ensuring fair share in housing production, and facilitating housing on publicly owned land.
On electoral reform, Reddy prioritizes even-year elections and supports the Citizens Union proposal for a ranked-choice open primary with a top-two general election, or other ways to ensure majority support for elected officials. He cautions against supporting curbside electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Vishnu Reddy
2:19:20
My name is Vishnu Reddy, and I'm so grateful that we're sitting here today and talking about two of the most important issues facing our city right now, which is the underproduction of housing of all kinds and the need for electoral reform.
2:19:34
The report that the commission has produced has many thoughtful proposals that I would love to see put on the ballot.
2:19:40
Let me start with housing.
2:19:41
There are many great proposals in your report such as fast tracking the land use review process for modest changes, consolidating the advisory portions of EULAR, ensuring every part of the city does their fair share in housing production, and getting out of our own way when it comes to building housing on publicly owned land.
2:19:59
I'm in support of pretty much all of the recommendations that the commission has put forward on the topic of housing, and I can't wait to vote for them on the ballot.
2:20:07
In fact, I would like to see us tackling this issue even more aggressively than what the plan, what the report suggests.
2:20:15
We can't afford to delay any longer because housing delayed is housing denied, and we can't keep living this way.
2:20:21
Millions of New Yorkers are suffering, and we need to tackle this problem with the urgency it deserves.
2:20:26
Now let me talk about electoral reform.
2:20:29
If any one electoral report electoral reform is most important here, it would be to do what we can on the city side to allow for even year elections.
2:20:37
Our turnout numbers are abysmally low, which harms the legitimacy of our political system, and even your elections would help bolster Chinat.
2:20:45
I'm also in favor of the Citizens Union's proposal to have a ranked choice open primary with a top two general election.
2:20:53
Barring that, I would encourage the commission to explore other ways to elect city officials with majority support instead of a mere plurality.
2:21:01
Lastly, I wanna caution the commission against supporting curbside electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
2:21:07
We already have a problem with getting the political will to reallocate curb space for longstanding needs in our city.
2:21:13
There are so many better ways we can publicly use we can use publicly owned space by the curb than for storing private vehicles.
2:21:20
Outdoor dining, neighborhood loading zones, bus lanes, bike lanes, and containerized trash are all things I would love to see more of, and that requires making car storage at the curb less entrenched, not more.
2:21:33
Thank you for your time.