Statement attributable to Tom Wright, President and CEO of Regional Plan Association.

Good morning. My name is Tom Wright, President and CEO of Regional Plan Association.

I am here today to register RPA’s strong support for City of Yes for Housing Opportunity. This pragmatic and innovative text amendment closely aligns with housing solutions that RPA has long championed to equitably expand New York’s housing stock in every neighborhood, limiting development pressure on individual communities while addressing a critical citywide shortage.

The restrictive zoning in many neighborhoods in New York City poses significant obstacles and costs to building new homes - for both affordable and market-rate - even in places with good transportation and access to jobs. This drives up prices, drives out working and middle-class residents, and constrains flexibility and choices for renters and prospective homeowners.

And make no mistake, this situation is getting worse. A recent analysis conducted by McKinsey & Company for RPA concluded that if the New York metropolitan region continues to add housing at its current rate of production, residents could see housing costs rise by another 25% by 2035, resulting in over a quarter of a million new households facing severe housing cost burdens.

Together, the zoning reforms in City of Yes form a cohesive and interconnected strategy to equitably and reasonably expand the housing stock in every neighborhood.

And the payback will be enormous.

RPA’s research has concluded that City of Yes would deliver between 15,000 and 30,000 new jobs generating between $1.1 and $2.1 billion in earnings each year, and an overall economic impact of between $41 and $83 billion over the next 15 years. More than half the jobs would result from building accessory dwelling units and smaller multi-family buildings throughout the city, which would be a huge benefit for smaller firms, especially MWBEs and nonprofits who cannot easily participate in a market that has been so focused on large buildings in just a few neighborhoods.

For these reasons and more, RPA strongly supports City of Yes and encourages the subcommittee and broader City Council to do the same.

Thank you for your time.