Public testimony: Logan Ferris (Open New York) supports Fort Hamilton Mews

We will now call on Logan Fares.

If you could just restate your name for the record and you may begin.

Good morning.

I'm Logan Ferris.

I'm the political director at Open New York, a statewide grassroots advocacy group that advocates for abundant homes and lower rents.

Thank you, Chair Lewis and members of the committee for the opportunity to speak in support of building 292 new homes, 88 of them affordable, at 9305 5th Avenue, land that is currently a Staples parking lot.

According to HPD's Affordable Housing Production Database, this project alone will more than triple the number of affordable homes built in this community district from 2014 to 2025.

From 2014 to 2024, just 12 community districts produced as much homes as the other 47 combined.

The failure to build housing equitably across the five boroughs has accelerated instability and displacement and left our city unaffordable for the vast majority of its residents.

Last month, average rents in Brooklyn climbed to a historic $4,500 a month.

Projects like Fort Hamilton Muse on underutilized land, steps from a newly accessible R train station, are exactly the kind that we need to see across the city.

In recent weeks, HPD and DCP released the Fair Housing Growth Strategy, a report in compliance with Local Law 167 of 2023, a bill championed by the City Council at its passage.

The report found that we need 700,000 new homes in the next decade to meet current and future demand.

I urge you to support new homes.

For Hamilton News, thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you.