Good morning. My name is Maulin Mehta and I serve as the New York Director at Regional Plan Association. Thank you Deputy Speaker Williams, Chair Ung and members of the committee for the opportunity to testify today. RPA strongly supports the confirmation of John Mangin as Chair of the Board of Standard and Appeals (BSA).
We are all aware of how critical our City’s housing crisis is. For years, RPA has been sounding the alarm that we simply do not have enough homes to meet the needs of current and future New Yorkers. We need an all of the above approach to build more housing in more places of all types and affordability levels. To do so, we need to reform regulations that have too often made good projects difficult to deliver.
That is why the work of the BSA is so important today.
New Yorkers approved a new process last year that would enable the BSA to provide a faster path for certain types of affordable housing development. RPA along with many of our fellow advocates supported the fundamental goal of that reform to make it easier to advance affordable housing projects while still maintaining a transparent public process. The success of that reform will now depend on how well it is implemented.
BSA leadership with sound judgement, deep understanding of how housing gets built, and commitment to fairness and consistency is critical to building trust and success. John Mangin clearly brings those qualities to the position.
John has dedicated over a decade of public service at the Department of City Planning, where he leads their housing division. In his time, he has worked on some of the most consequential housing reforms the City has undertaken, including neighborhood planning efforts, Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity.
In our extensive research and advocacy efforts around housing, we have worked very closely with John over the years. He is a thoughtful and knowledgeable public servant dedicated to responsible governance to solve our housing challenges.
The BSA must be a credible, independent institution that can review land-use questions and make decisions fairly, responsibly, and predictably with transparency and accountability. John has dedicated his career serving this City and we believe he is particularly well qualified to lead the BSA.
We know he will work closely with the City Council and be responsive to community feedback as we collectively work to solve our housing challenges. We urge you to confirm his nomination.
