Kevin Wolf of Center for NYC Neighborhoods testifies on ADUs

Great.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair Riley, for having this hearing and the opportunity to testify.

My name is Kevin Wolf, and I'm the Director of Policy and Research for the Center for New York City Neighborhoods.

As one of the largest homeowner service nonprofit organizations, we do support the goals of the block-by-block housing plan.

I do want to echo what my colleagues have said today.

We wanted to specifically focus on ADUs as a central part of the strategy.

We've done a research report and our research has identified that there are over 256,000 residential lots in the city that could feasibly accommodate an ADU under the new zoning provisions.

These could include basement apartments, attics, garage apartments, backyard and backyard cottages.

Queens has the greatest potential.

Almost half of those eligible lots are in Queens, but there are significant opportunities in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

From our research, ADUs can be less expensive to build the multifamily housing.

While also keeping the content.

architecture of the neighborhood, providing rental income that helps homeowners manage their maintenance costs, preserve homes, and help those age in place.

They can also create rental housing that is affordable within neighborhoods.

So we believe that the city should look at high potential neighborhoods, but also look at areas that have lower displacement risk, ensuring that longtime homeowners can remain in their homes.

One of the key issues that we find is that the homeowners are lacking the financing, the technical expertise, and the support to navigate the new construction around an ADU.

So we recommend expanding the ADU Plus program and also investing in community-based nonprofits to help guide homeowners through the process, as well as continuing the centralized city resources for technical assistance,

permitting, and financing.

And we've submitted our written testimony.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you so much.

There being no questions, thank you so much for your testimony here today.

Next, we'll have Matt Thibodeau, Yvette Shen, Jack Connors, and Howard Slaykin.

Matt Thibodeau?

Go ahead.