Shane Keats testifies as renter supporting Queens Boulevard rezoning
Shane Keats, a Queens renter, supports the rezoning, contrasts his 1994 apartment affordability with today's costs, says his carpenter daughter cannot afford to stay, and argues new apartment buildings are needed along Queens Boulevard even if beloved stores relocate during construction.
Thank you, Council Members.
My name is Shane Keats.
I'm a renter here in Queens, and I'm here to voice my support for this rezoning.
I moved to the city in 1994.
Even then, apartments were expensive.
But in 1994, I got a four-to-one bedroom on $18 an hour.
Yes, the bedroom was the size of a closet, and maybe that was a single futon at best, but I didn't need two roommates.
Fast forward to today, my daughter just put herself through carpentry school, and I thought this kid's a genius, a skilled trade that can't be replaced by a computer or AI.
But this summer, she told me she's taking a job out of state.
She loves what she does.
She loves where she lives.
But as a journeyman carpenter, not union, unfortunately, she makes $25 an hour, and she can't afford to stay here and continue to build her life here.
Look, as a kid, I lived in New Jersey.
I've seen what ugly looks like.
I've seen a lot of strip malls.
When I look at the picture of what this development is going to look like, I see Queens, not New Jersey.
And I get why some people oppose this.
And any change in a place that you love is hard.
I love my neighborhood in part because it feels like I can touch the generations that have come before me.
But I want my kid and her kid to be able to have that same experience.
And along Queens Boulevard, the only way that can happen is if we let good apartment buildings go up.
single-story retail exists today, even if that means stores we love and have long relied upon have to relocate during construction, it seems a small price to pay to create new memories of cherished places for another generation of New Yorkers.
Thanks for considering my comments.