CM Hanif: CBAs, Gowanus investments, and hearing accessibility commitments

And I agree with...

Some of what you've shared about community benefits agreement.

I mean, I think for the Gowanus rezoning, you know, 200 million for our two NYCHA developments, and then millions more

for climate resiliency projects, and then in a recent rezoning in Windsor Terrace,

hundreds of affordable housing beyond

on MIH.

And, you know, one of the challenges is the financing, where we still keep getting stuck.

And so I certainly have concerns around, you know, these lengthy or detailed community

benefits agreements to get projects to the finish line, while also remaining concerned about the cost that is not coming from the city itself.

It's coming, it has to come from developer or other private means.

So certainly would want to continue.

Seeing how else the city might be able to build affordable housing without needing to dip into these detailed community benefits that

are outside of

that are in addition to getting the project to move along as opposed to getting a, like trying to pass a strong housing project, but really it's about,

in my opinion, I think,

we need more affordable housing.

And the community benefits agreements have certainly helped us push projects because they added additional goods in addition to the affordable housing.

And then, you know, the accessibility and openness to the public.

If confirmed as chair, how would your hearings

Be different or unique as we've heard you make commitments through this hearing, just your

desire to want to engage the council, the broader public, knowing very well that community engagement continues to be, I think, very dire.

Community meetings are not well attended, and specifically the kinds of campaigns that happen to oppose projects and who organizes those remains very concerning.

So while we've moved a very ambitious City of Yes for Housing opportunity, I would like to see...

Of a far greater diversity of New Yorkers participating in not just in-person meetings, but in a multitude of ways.

Right, yeah.

Thank you.

Not every application is going to be, you know,

is going to have extensive public engagement in it, that's fine.

But just trying to ensure that the infrastructure is there when projects do come along that have broad interest among the public that they can participate.

In addition to more transparent websites and in addition to

you know, community trainings around what the BIA

SE is and what it does and how to participate, I think I would emulate some of the previous work under previous city planning chair, Garodnik, who did just very simple things like

announce the agenda with like totally understandable descriptions about what was, what each project was about at the beginning of each meeting.

Like just simple things like that go a huge way to making those meetings friendly, friendlier to a broader swath of the public and not just

you know, the land use attorneys who have done this 700 times.

And then finally, and thank you, Chair, what are some of the challenges going into this role or of the BSA itself that you're thinking about?

I think that, thank you for the question, I think that

The biggest outstanding role right now is standing at the BSA Fast Track for Affordable Housing.

I think that that's big.

My understanding from discussions with existing folks, staff at BSA, is that the board is in a healthy and effective place.

They do need an IT person, especially if we're going to create these new publicly transparent websites.

But it seems like, if confirmed, I would inherit a pretty well-run ship.

Thank you.

And I'd like to turn it over to Councilwoman Burr.