March 5, 2022
Ted Freed
As you may know, as a member of the Racial Impact Study Coalition, Inwood Legal Action fought long and hard for the passage of Local Law 78 of 2021 which mandates that valuable info be provided on all communities, and additional info for significant land use proposals, to determine how equitable proposed housing and other development is likely to be, and empower community residents to fight for changes to better meet their needs and reduce displacement risk.
A vital online tool required by this law, the “Equitable Development Data Tool” (EDDT) which includes a “Displacement Risk Index” (DRI), is being rolled out fast, and it’s important that the Departments of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) and City Planning (DCP) know that we are paying attention, and that they hear our call for full access and engagement for local NYC neighborhoods.
We urge you to start becoming familiar with this tool even before its launch, and to testify at an upcoming public hearing. Here’s how:
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Visit the pre-launch EDDT website for a 3-min. video, EDDT & DRI mockups, a timeline, an “office hours” link to sign up to chat with HPD/DCP EDDT team members, a space to submit questions & comments, and more.
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If you can, sign up to attend an HPD/DCP remote info session at 10 AM, on Saturday, March 5.
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Testify at an online Public Hearing March 10 4:00 PM: Register here to attend.
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Submit written testimony at EDDT@planning.nyc.gov.
Having seen advance work by HPD & DCP, the Coalition feels that, at this time, it is less important to focus testimony on data details. But it is very important to let HPD & DCP know that you think this tool has great potential value, but that potential can only be realized if they listen to you and other community stakeholders when you try to use it, and determine what changes are needed to make the tool most useful.
HPD & DCP have committed to periodically updating and refining the tool starting this summer. To be sure they dedicate the effort to make it most useful to communities, please let them know you’ll be trying to use the tool and will be expecting HPD & DCP to listen to community stakeholders to keep improving the tool for use in land use review and other purposes.
Key dates in the law: EDDT Launch April 1, 2022. Then, land use applicants submitting proposals on or after June 1, 2022 that exceed certain thresholds will be required to prepare “Racial Equity Reports” on their projects, including community data from the EDDT.
Finally: Save the date: April 14, 6-8PM, for an exciting event: The Racial Impact Study Coalition has found common cause with the like-minded Racial Equity in All Planning Coalition in San Francisco. The two coalitions are planning the online event “Who Are We Building For? NYC/SF Community Conversation about Housing Equity.” You can register to attend at: https://bit.ly/SF_NYC