CM Carr opposes Mangin for BSA chair, citing erosion of Council land use powers and anti-community rhetoric
Carr opposes John Mangin's nomination as BSA chair, criticizing his role in ballot referenda to fast-track housing by removing the Council from land use, his derision of homeowners as cartels, and his dismissal of community benefits agreements. Carr states he will not consent to giving Mangin broad land use powers, voting yes on Garcia and no on the other two.
And finally, we come to Mr.
Mangin and his appointment to be chair of the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals.
It's the reason most of us are really here today to speak.
And we're here as members.
Because the voters of our district have entrusted us to make decisions on their behalf and to represent their best interests.
But in recent years, we have witnessed our powers both individually and as an institution erode and consolidated into what is already a strong mayor system.
And that includes our ability to negotiate land use projects in our communities.
In my nearly two decades serving the city as first a staffer and then a member of this body, I can count on one hand the number of times this council did not approve a housing project that came before it.
Yet somehow many are convinced that we're a NIMBY institution and that we're the reason the city isn't building enough housing.
That couldn't be further from the truth.
So John Mangin, perhaps working with others at City Planning and the former Mayor's Charter Revision Commission, came up with a ballot referenda to fast-track affordable housing by removing the council from the land use process altogether.
Despite the fact that the council is legally required to review and vote on land use projects within 50 days, while the administration side, the bureaucratic process, can take an average of more than three years.
Mr.
Mangin is the same person who has derided homeowners as cartels, comparing community meetings to gather local input on projects to Tea Party protests.
And it said community benefits agreements, which have helped bring billions of dollars in infrastructure and add tens of thousands of new housing units to our city, are actually, quote, efforts to prevent particular developments, end quote.
And now he's here before us as a body asking for our approval to chair a panel that will give him a
broad range of powers on land use decisions in our districts to give him the voice that he took away from our constituents.
I've come to expect that the chair of the Board of Standards and Appeals will make decisions that I do not agree with and that are usually detrimental to the communities I represent, but I am not going to give someone my consent to make them.
And so therefore, I'll be voting yes.
On the appointment of Lisa Garcia to the land bank and no on the other two appointments before us today.
Thank you.