opposition to city of yes is ongoing
The City of Yes Fight Moves to the Courts
In December, the City Council narrowly passed an amended version of the City of Yes housing proposal. Although we are grateful that some of the most egregious elements were watered down before its passage, this is still a very bad proposal for low-density neighborhoods like Bellcourt.
The City of Yes marketing materials promise affordable housing everywhere, with no ill effects on our communities. Judge for yourself if these provisions (all still in the bill that passed!) would affect Bellcourt:
Yard size minimums reduced, cutting back on green space and threatening already overworked drainage in our community. How does a smaller yard, or a smaller setback from the sidewalk, improve our citywide housing situation? IT DOES NOT.
Perimeter walls and overall home heights are increased. How does a taller home address the housing issue? IT DOES NOT. It only allows builders to create larger homes, at more insanely high prices. IT BENEFITS BUILDERS, NOT COMMUNITIES.
Increased floor area ratio (FAR). Our current FAR is .5, meaning a house can have living space equal to 50% of the lot size. Under City of Yes that will be .75. A house on a typical 40x100 lot is now capped at 2,000sf - under City of Yes a house on that lot can be 50% larger at 3,000sf. How does a significantly larger home affect our housing crisis? IT DOES NOT! It only benefits the builder, who can charge more for the larger house.
Lot sizes reduced from 40-foot minimum frontage to 30. Smaller lot sizes would certainly affect our neighborhood! A developer who buys a 4o-foot-wide lot next to a 50-foot-wide lot would have a 90-foot frontage available, meaning those two houses will be replaced by three homes on three lots with minimal green space around it. Yes, it adds one house. But there is no incentive for that home to be affordable. A builder motivated by profit will put up the biggest, most expensive houses allowed. IT DOES NOTHING FOR AFFORDABILITY.
The common theme in all of these points is that communities WILL be affected, in negative ways, and builders will benefit. Look deeper than the City of Yes FAQ! The marketing brochure promises what it cannot possibly deliver.
This is why the Bellcourt Civic Association is supporting the efforts of the Queens Congress of Civics, which is spearheading a legal challenge to City of Yes to keep it from taking effect. Along with many of our fellow civic associations, Bellcourt has made a special donation to the Congress in support of this effort. Thank you to those who made donations for this challenge!
The hearing on our legal action has been scheduled for July 8.
We will keep you all notified of progress.
Email us at info@bellcourt.org for more information