🍎 citymeetings.nyc #4
A hearing on City of Yes for Economic Opportunity
I'm releasing new UI today for citymeetings.nyc to make it easier to skim long hearings.
I'll cover what's new and why, and then dedicate the rest of the newsletter to one 7-hour hearing on proposed sweeping changes to NYC zoning entitled "City of Yes for Economic Opportunity".
Feedback/comments/questions? Reply to this newsletter or email me at vikram@citymeetings.nyc. I love hearing from users and readers and reply to every email I get.
New UI: Optimizing for Skimmability
I want citymeetings.nyc to present dense meetings in a way that's accessible, easy to navigate, and easy to skim.
This new UI furthers those goals in ways my original UI does not:
- It works on mobile.
- It puts chapter summaries front-and-center.
It looks like this (a GIF, might take a sec to load):
The new page allows readers to cross-reference source material by viewing the video clip.
If you want the transcript, it also has links to "View with transcript" which will take you to the old meeting page (desktop-only).
Here's a breakdown of what you see for each chapter on the new page:
You can report issues in chapter summaries by emailing me at vikram@citymeetings.nyc.
I share my intent behind chapter summaries, how to report issues in them, and the kinds of issues I'll fix in the FAQ. It's linked to at the top of every meeting page.
Hearing on City of Yes for Economic Opportunity
What is City of Yes?
City of Yes is a City Hall initiative that proposes sweeping changes to zoning laws that have been untouched since 1961. They're significant because:
- They affect a large swath of the city.
- They're contentious.
- They're complicated.
City of Yes is comprised of three distinct but interrelated proposals that further goals related to carbon neutrality, economic opportunity, and housing.
This hearing on April 8th was on the economic opportunity proposal.
What's the proposal?
The Department of City Planning (DCP) delivered an accessible and helpful breakdown of their proposal at the hearing. I'm a layperson and I learned a ton.
Their proposal has four goals:
- Make it easier for businesses to find space and grow
- Boost growing industries
- Enable more business-friendly streetscapes
- Create new opportunities for businesses to open.
There are 18 proposed changes that relate to these goals.
If you live in NYC, the proposal probably impacts you.
If you want to get up to speed on it, I don't think there is a better way to do so than to skim through DCP's thorough 40-minute presentation in a few minutes using the new UX on citymeetings.nyc.
- The presentation starts here.
- They talk about the motivation for the zoning proposal here. - Some claims: we have nearly 17K vacant storefronts, 16% of New Yorkers are working from home at least 1 day a week, and we have a 19% office vacancy rate.
- They educate viewers on how zoning affects businesses here.
- DCP outlines each proposal starting here.
- DCP addresses misinformation in myth/fact format here.
My favorite slide comes from proposal #9, which is to "support nightlife with common-sense dancing and live entertainment rules".
What a goofy slide!
Today, we allow live musical entertainment at bars and restaurants so long as the capacity is below 200 people. But, in the same venue, zoning laws technically prohibit dancing to the music.
Weird, eh? It is also prohibited to use the same space for other common uses, like open mic nights or live comedy.
This is all a relic of cabaret laws that were repealed, which council member Keith Powers asks about and DCP commissioner Dan Garodnick expands on here.
Some other highlights I thought were fun or interesting:
- Proposal 6 updates terms used to classify businesses. Our zoning laws currently include classifications like "typewriter repair" and "shoddy manufacturing"
- Proposal 7 formally allows indoor agriculture like vertical farming in commercial districts. Greenhouses are already allowed in these districts.
- Proposal 10 creates more opportunities for amusements to locate in commercial corridors, so maybe you won't have to go to Gowanus to play full-scale shuffleboard or throw an axe. It also adds classifications for things like laser tag and virtual reality.
What issues does the council have with the proposal?
Council questions begin here.
The main issues council members brought up repeatedly were:
- "The complexity of the proposal and frustration that there wasn't enough assistance by City Hall to help communities fully understand and engage with the proposal." - Chair Kevin Riley asks how DCP might engage differently in the future, DCP shares how they've done more engagement on this proposal than any other. Link - Lynn Schulman wishes council members were invited to community board meetings. Link - Joann Ariola asks if this could have been done piecemeal. Link
- "There's a lack of faith that the city can or will adequately enforce new zoning regulations." - Lynn Schulman shares her concerns based on the fact that Department of Buildings (DOB) cannot fulfill its current enforcement obligations. Link - Lynn Schulman shares how some enforcement may require state and federal involvement, especially around labs. Link - Kevin Riley asks how DCP will ensure that DOB has enough resources to address complaints around home-based businesses (Proposal 11 updates home occupation rules). Link - Gale Brewer shares the same concern in her barrage of many questions. Link
- "This is too "one-size-fits-all."* - Kamillah Hanks asks how the proposal accounts for more suburban areas like Staten Island. Link - Vickie Paladino doesn't think that some of these rules should apply to her district. Link
The council also fears that they won't get opportunities to weigh in on things they don't want in their community. But the DCP pushes back by saying that, in many cases, there is no pathway for communities to make use of spaces in reasonable ways in their homes or the 17K+ vacant storefronts in NYC to begin with.
I think this short exchange between Christopher Marte and Dan Garodnick, DCP's commissioner clearly outlines that tension along with some of DCP and the City Council's reasonable intents, without fear-mongering or misconceptions that some council members have regarding the proposal (Here is an example of the latter with Vickie Paladino.)
Finally, the proposal affects different districts in different ways and you can see this in questions and statements each council member got on the record across ~3 hours: the list of meeting chapters is here and it's easy to scroll through and skim.
What does support from the borough presidents and the community boards look like?
Dan Garodnick lays out specific numbers about ~2 minutes into this chapter.
- 4 out of 5 borough presidents are in support of the proposal. Staten Island is not.
- 21 community boards voted yes. 30 community boards voted no.
He notes that since the proposal is actually 18 sub-proposals, DCP asked community boards to engage with each sub-proposal individually as well.
They had majority support from community boards for 16 out of 18 of the proposals. The two that lacked support were:
- Proposal 5: allowing commercial use above residential in some districts.
- Proposal 11: updating home occupation rules.
What do folks who testified think?
~150 people registered to testify. A little over 70 of them actually did.
Public testimonies start here and they include testimonies from government officials including Mark Levine (Manhattan Borough President) and Vanessa Gibson (Bronx Borough President):
Most of the testimony is from community board members and local civic associations and most of that group is in opposition, as is their wont.
The primary issues they cite include:
- Giving city planning too much discretionary authority: Proposals 15 - 18 allow city planning to make decisions without city council approval.
- Allowing commercial uses in residential areas:
- Proposal 11's changes around home occupation rules.
- Proposal 5's changes allowing commercial use above residential.
- Especially proposal 16 allowing corner stores in residential areas.
- A lack of faith that new rules will be enforced.
There are few blanket disapprovals from this group -- they all cite issues with sub-proposals.
The dance community and DJs came out in fervent support of Proposal 9 (the dancing proposal).
I really enjoyed listening to these testimonies. Here are some of them:
- Greg Miller, a dancer and dance advocate
- Jerry Goldman, Chair of Dance Parade, talks about the city's oppressive dance laws
- Sommay Jaijon, owner of May Kaidee Vegan Restaurant, wants to share traditional Thai music and dancing
- Mark McNulty, a DJ
And, finally, various businesses and business communities came out in support. Here are links to some of their testimonies:
- Alliance for Downtown New York's testimony
- The Atlantic Avenue BID (Business Improvement District)
- A senior planner at the Regional Plan Association
- Bronx Chamber of Commerce
- Pratt Center for Community Development
- Evergreen, a development corporation in North Brooklyn
- Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation
- Long Island City Partnership
- New York Building Congress
- Silvercup Studios (a film production facility)
Thanks for reading!
Comments, questions, or feedback? Reply to this email or shoot me a note at vikram@citymeetings.nyc