- The proposals would dramatically change neighborhood character
- Allow commercial uses in residential areas
- Enable much denser development in low-density neighborhoods
- Quote: "This affects the entirecity. It affects neighborhoods not just in Queens but across the five boroughs."
- Claims of housing shortage are misleading
- NYC population has declined recently
- Existing zoning can accommodate millions more people
- Quote: "We went down a million... it took 30 years to get back to where we were in 2000. We went up in 2010, we went up a little more and then 5 years ago we've lost over 600,000 people."
- Proposals favor developers over existing residents
- Remove parking requirements to increase developer profits
- Allow much larger buildings as-of-right
- Quote: "This is not about exclusionary zoning. This is a wish list from developers that may become reality."
- Low-density neighborhoods are being unfairly targeted
- Only 15% of NYC is zoned for single-family homes
- These areas pay disproportionately high property taxes
- Quote: "We are owner occupiers. We are not landlords... The city has decided this Administration that we do not deserve to exist."
- Loss of local control over development
- Removes community board input on many projects
- Gives more power to City Planning Commission
- Quote: "There would no longer be Community review of projects and all projects... would be termed as of right. As of right means rubber stamp okays for things we don't want."
- Environmental and infrastructure concerns
- No analysis of impacts on sewers, schools, etc.
- Loss of green space and increased flooding risk
- Quote: "They are actually not analyzing anything that they're doing here which is shocking to me. I'm a planner. The first rule of planning is... you gather the data, you analyze it."
- Questionable public engagement process
- Limited outreach to communities
- Complex proposals difficult for public to understand
- Quote: "175 meetings with Community boards. That's a lot of meetings except we have 51 Community boards so that works out to about three meetings per community board."