I stand in opposition to the down zoning in the south slope in particular and in Brooklyn in general. We don’t need less building, we need more. Much more. The south-slope needs more 5 and 6 story buildings such as we have in center-slope. I have never heard anyone say that center slope is oppressive. The current zoning limit of 55’ is fine. Since people are so concerned about the scale of the new buildings enforce the building limit – don’t allow height variances for any reason.
However the down zoning restricts the FAR to a ridiculous amount. If people are concerned about the height of the buildings why limit the FAR? How do fewer and smaller apartments help the community? This is the key flaw in the down zoning and the main reason I stand in opposition to the proposed plan.
Restricting housing means higher prices for everyone. We need more housing -- and for those of you concerned about affordable housing -- we also need more large apartments, more upper-middle class housing and we need it now. When middle class people can’t afford housing in middle-class neighborhoods they find it in poor and working-class neighborhoods. And since they have more money they out-bid their working class neighbors for the apartments. As the neighborhood changes – gentrifies -- housing prices rise and poor and working-class people are unable to stay. If you’re concerned about working class people make certain that middle and upper-middle class people have housing. If they don’t have housing the poor will suffer.
Restricting housing supplies means more than higher prices. It means that the middle and upper-middle class will look elsewhere for housing. Jersey City, for example, is booming and will continue to grab an every higher percentage of upper middle class and wealthy families who could have been living here, shopping here – which means more jobs – and paying taxes here.
As conscientious Americans we want more people living in cities. City-dwellers consume less energy and produce less pollution than do our suburban-sprawl counterparts. We should be promoting life here in NYC and for that to happen we need more apartments, more large apartments, more buildings not less.
The above is a transcript of what I had intended to say at the City Council Meeting. I was angry beyond belief at the "I've got mine, f**k everyone else mentality" that I ad-libbed a little too much.
2 comments:
I am with you all the way. I am very disturbed that an entire neighborhood got fooled into supporting this sham without understanding that their property values would be diminished due to the current downzoning.
Why is this blog soooooo late getting out of the gate? Where were you when Aaron and his gang were running around with their ugly ‘House not for sale” signs? We should have mobilized much sooner. There was virtually no opposition to them and now it is too late. Not sure what can be accomplished now, but thanks for standing up.
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