Matt Thibodeau of Municipal Arts Society testifies on comprehensive planning
He supports ambition but concerns about lack of coordination, rigor, and strategy; urges city to publish clear plan connecting housing goals with capital commitments and establish dedicated funding for neighborhood planning.
Thank you, Chair Riley and members of the committee.
My name is Matt Thibodeau.
I'm an urban planner at the Municipal Arts Society of New York.
MAS has long advocated for comprehensive community-based planning that pairs housing growth with neighborhood services and climate resilient infrastructure, both independently and as a longstanding member of the Thriving Communities Coalition.
We support Mayor Mamdani's ambition to build more affordable homes, but have significant concerns about the lack of coordination, rigor, and strategy for community-based implementation.
Block by block, the Fair Housing Growth Strategy and the Affordable Housing Fast Track are advancing on separate paths.
It is unclear how they fit together or how 700,000 new homes will be matched by the schools, parks, transit, or flood protection they require.
Block by Block lays out an ambitious vision, but offers few details on delivery.
The report does not explain considerations that will guide future land use actions, such as transit-oriented development or comprehensive neighborhood plans.
We urge the city to publish a clear plan that connects housing goals with capital commitments to public infrastructure and communities that are expected to densify.
Likewise, the Fair Housing Growth Strategy lacks detail on where and how communities will accommodate growth and what types of housing New Yorkers actually need.
The report does not respond to the full intent of Local Law 167, which explicitly requires a detailed housing needs assessment and consideration of transit, public services, and climate impacts.
We urge HPD to deepen its housing needs analysis to quantify the levels of affordability needed by each community.
as well as to outline district-level spatial plans to guide development to areas with the capacity to handle additional density.
Finally, the 12 districts identified for the affordable housing fast track have no accompanying planning strategy or spatial framework.
The city must thoughtfully determine where new housing will be sited in these 12 districts.
We urge the city to establish dedicated funding for neighborhood planning with a clear pathway to implementation, as it has in the past with the Neighborhood Development Fund.
MAS welcomes the opportunity to set up a time to discuss additional details.
Thank you.
Thank you, Matt Yvette.