Testimony re: New York City Commission to Strengthen Local Democracy

Thank you, Co-Chairs Garrido and Rice and all the Commissioners for the opportunity to submit testimony to this Commission. I am Tara Duvivier, Senior Planner at the Pratt Center for Community Development, which has been working since 1963 to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable city through participatory planning, applied research, and policy advocacy in collaboration with community-based organizations.

Pratt Center is also a member of the Thriving Communities Coalition (TCC), a citywide movement of more than 15 grassroots organizing, advocacy, policy, and technical assistance groups advocating for a more equitable, participatory, and comprehensive approach to city planning.

We are excited to see that this Commission is pursuing strategies to strengthen fair housing and community planning in the city. We join our fellow members of TCC to testify today in support of revisions to the City Charter to strengthen, democratize, and enforce the city’s Fair Housing Plan in support of comprehensive, community-based, and equitable planning goals.

Specifically, TCC is calling on this Commission to consider proposing amendments to the City Charter to:

• Give the City Council the authority to approve the Fair Housing Plan’s housing targets and require that Community Boards develop their own community land use plans to meet them. Democratic approval of the Fair Housing Plan and community participation in its implementation will help ensure the city establishes equitable housing targets and meets them.
• Use the Fair Housing Plan to guide land use planning and decision-making. While we understand that this Commission is not considering changes to the land use review process, proposed charter revisions elsewhere could create a ULURP “fast-track” for some housing projects. We urge this Commission to do everything in its power to ensure that any implemented ULURP fast-tracks apply solely to projects that meet the Fair Housing Plan targets and prioritize deeply affordable housing in areas of need.
• Better align the capital budget with Fair Housing Plan goals and disclose what future investments are needed to reduce disparities across neighborhoods. These changes will increase transparency and accountability in the budget and planning process and provide the resources community boards need to create land use plans.

Taken together, these proposals would represent significant steps toward achieving the goals of comprehensive planning in our city. These proposals would establish equitable housing targets set by the City as required and guided by the Fair Housing Plan, create a proactive process for communities to put forward their plans for how best to meet these targets, expedite affordable housing that support the Fair Housing Plan and community plans, and provide transparency on the investments needed to implement make these plans a reality.

This Commission has an opportunity to improve our fair housing and community planning processes for a more just, equitable, and democratic city. At a time when policymakers are considering reforms to land use planning that would reduce transparency and community involvement, this Commission’s commitment to democracy is all the more important. We invite the Commission to collaborate with the Thriving Communities Coalition, which has spent years developing policy proposals to advance comprehensive planning, to further discuss these proposals.

For more information, contact

Tara Duvivier
Senior Planner
Pratt Center for Community Development

Note: This testimony reflects the position of Pratt Center for Community Development and not necessarily Pratt Institute.