CM Hanif Q&A: Mangin on BSA role and rezoning experience with communities

Thank you, Chair.

Was that me?

Hi, John.

It's great to see you and hear from you.

And thank you to my colleagues for your questions.

Just want to begin by thanking you for your work over the years, and in particular, your partnership with the New York City Council over several administrations.

Also appreciated you taking the time to visit me in person to discuss your extensive experience in

city government and explaining the important role of the Board of Standards and Appeals and what it plays in our city.

And I'd like to just state for the record that I think your track record in housing policy, your depth of technical knowledge and experience engaging communities across not just

New York City, but several municipalities are all very significant strengths and make you a very strong candidate to serve as chair of the BSA.

I'm really excited about the BSA's authority to fast track publicly funded affordable housing projects, which I know you helped get us.

So first question, for New Yorkers who are not familiar with the Board of Standards and Appeal, could you explain what the BSA does, what the chair's role entails, and how the board's decision can affect communities?

And I think there's been a lot of emphasis on homeowners and private property owners.

Thank you for the question, Council Member.

So, you know, I see the core, core function of BSA as Chair Ong laid out, serving as a safety valve.

You know, I mentioned the second class I teach every year for Land Use Law.

The first class is the Standard State Zoning Enabling Act from 1924 that lays out the structure of zoning that basically obtains in municipalities across the United States.

and the BSA is in there.

They are seen as absolutely necessary when a zoning resolution doesn't allow an individual owner to do anything possible on their site, just because of the interaction with the zoning, with the particularities of the site.

You need a relief valve, somebody you can go to so that you can do something.

That was to save zoning resolutions from significant legal risk.

And to do that, you know, you need to show hardship.

You need to show unique conditions.

And BSA only has the authority to grant the minimum amount of flexibility necessary in order for a landowner to build something on their sites.

And I feel kind of old school about that.

At different times in history, variant standards have been looser or stricter.

You know, BSA more recently has returned to its roots on that matter, and I would support that.

They also do appeals when neighborhood residents or when individual landowners don't like determinations of, for instance, DOB, interpretations of a zoning provision.

BSA is the first stop to try to, if you want to appeal that zoning determination.

Sometimes it goes beyond BSA into the court system, but again, BSA was there to serve as an administrative body that would keep all the different zoning issues that you might face across the city out of the courts.

Otherwise, you might clog the courts with those types of things.

types of issues.

BSA administers various special permits in the zoning resolution.

As part of my work on citywide's MIH and zoning for quality and affordability and City of Yes for housing opportunity, I've helped to create some of those actions as well.

For instance, you know,

parking reductions for certain projects that may have parking requirements that make it difficult for those developments to pencil out.

Or if you're a Wendy's way out in Queens and you need a drive-thru, you have to go through BSA for things like that, or a TD Bank or something like that, you have to go through BSA.

And then, you know, finally, there's the BSA Fast Track.

We've talked a little bit about that.

No projects have gone through that yet.

Would be very excited to stand that up with HPD and other stakeholders in order to create affordable housing projects on sites around the city that just don't have the opportunity under the existing system.

I mean, I mentioned my work with faith-based organizations at City Planning over the last 12 years.

Many of those congregations have land that they want to do things with.

Not all of them have the wherewithal of, you know, a Bishop Hugh Nelson in Brooklyn who went through a major rezoning and then built a bunch of affordable housing or a Christian cultural center that did the same thing.

But a BSA fast track for affordable housing will open up opportunities for a significant range of, I think, those faith-based sites that I've talked to over the years as well.

And so I'm excited about that.

The examples about the hypothetical Buendia's lot and or the drive-through and then

adding an ADU, would those decisions be ones that the city council make in the first place?

In general, the types of issues that go to BSA are the teeny tiny ones that are seen not to raise any significant planning or land use issues that should go to CPC or the city council.

And of course, if it's in a local law or if it's in the zoning resolution, council has at some point in the past enacted that provision as well and deemed it not necessary for that action to go to council.

Great.

And then could you talk a little bit more about the rezonings you've worked on?

I know you named a bunch, including Gowanus in my district, and how you worked with the council members and affected communities when there were disagreements or competing priorities.

Thank you for the question.

Some of the rezonings that I played the biggest role in, I mean, there was the Soho NoHo rezoning a number of years back.

There was Inwood rezoning that I participated in.

And then some neighborhood rezonings where I served a more specialized role.

Like I think like in the Jamaica rezoning, I was kind of liaison to many of the faith-based organizations in the neighborhood that wanted to understand what their options were today or under the proposed rezoning.

And, you know, the neighborhood rezonings that I participated in, that continues up till the very end.

Everybody recognizes that council plays a decisive role in those and that without the support of the council, you can't get anything done.

And so across administrations, I've seen very earnest efforts to work with city council in order to hammer out those benefits agreements that are necessary in order to get those projects over the top.

Thank you.