Good morning, City Council!
I’m Benjy Ross, an intern with PCAC – the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.
The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity is intrinsically about combatting our housing crisis by building more housing to meet our needs. Please vote yes today.
Our way forward is to build housing that makes use of our world class mass transit system.
New York City is not Houston. New York City is not Los Angeles.
It’s a fact: the majority of New Yorkers travel by transit. It’s what makes New York New York.
We need to allow more – and more affordable – housing to be built in New York City that offers its residents access to the incredible transit options that provide access to opportunity.
Allowing modest increases in housing near transit will make our city greener and more livable. We support removing parking minimums, which make housing more expensive to build and encourage people to drive.
Using data from the Department of City Planning, our research shows that within the next 15 years, the increase in housing development allowed by City of Yes for Housing Opportunity could bring in up to $300,000,000 annually for the MTA’s operating budget.
This revenue is key in allowing the MTA to run trains and buses more frequently. Meaning that riders can see better, more frequent service simply because more people use the system.
This policy is about a lot of things. But at its core, it’s about building a more livable and affordable future for New York City.
City of Yes for Housing Opportunity is about transportation just as much as it’s about housing.
Good housing policy is good transportation policy.
Let’s continue to build New York City around the amazing transit system we already have.
Please vote in support for City of Yes for Housing Opportunity in its entirety. Thank you for your time.