Public testimony: Matthew Iulo opposes scale on tight 46th Avenue block
Matthew Iulo, a 10-year LIC resident, opposes the proposal at current scale, arguing 46th Avenue is a tight block not Jackson Avenue. He cites congestion at Trader Joe's, MoMA PS1 blocking areas, and notes the site was left out of the 1LIC rezoning for height restriction reasons.
Thank you, Amiri.
Can you all hear me?
Yes, we can.
You may begin.
Okay.
Thank you to the subcommittee, and thank you, Julie and Council, for taking the time and allowing my testimony.
My name is Matt Aulo.
I outright oppose this proposal at the current scale.
I'll echo a lot of what my neighbors have said, but I'll go a little deeper.
I'm a longtime resident, over 10 years in Long Island City particularly.
Love this neighborhood.
I'm invested in this neighborhood.
My family lives here.
And I am proud to see how much it's grown.
It's grown incredibly.
There is a ton of building and a ton of housing.
And I think it is a good thing.
But I think it has to be done smartly.
This particular proposal on 46AB is simply out of touch with the needs of that.
General area, that intimate area on 46 at adjacent Jackson Avenue and the surrounding blocks.
And I do believe it will cause significant, significant harm to the quality of living for any of the neighbors in that region.
This is 46th Avenue.
It's not Jackson Avenue.
No matter how much the developers want to bamboozle you about the proximity to that avenue, to the building, prime building that actually sits on that avenue,
It is not that avenue.
It's actually a very tiny, tiny block.
They use words like a wider, expansive street.
They have not stepped foot on this block then, if that's the case, because this is one of the shorter blocks in the neighborhood, one of the tighter blocks in the neighborhood with MoMA, which is a great presence, constantly blocking off actual areas on that block.
The congestion on a normal weekday or weekend, if you spend time at that Trader Joe's with the double parking and the pedestrian traffic.
Is already at its max.
So while I understand that we're maybe fighting a losing battle, I really hope that the advice to the higher ups, whether that's the mayor or however the tiers work, is getting across.
I imagine that that, for all those reasons, the tightness of the block, the height restrictions, is why it was left off your 1LX region.
Thank you so much, Matthew.
Thank you so much for your testimony.
We'll now call Will Gilbert.
Gilbert Chan.
Gilbert Chen.
Okay, now we'll call Melissa Guan.