As someone who was raised and has lived in South Jamaica, Queens, for almost my entire life, I see the Mayor’s proposed “City of Yes” initiative as nothing short of blatant corruption. This plan is an attempt to sell out our few prestigious residential neighborhoods to large developers, betraying the communities that make our city unique. Residents in my neighborhood have consistently expressed desires for better roads, improved infrastructure to reduce flooding, and better schools to serve our children. Instead of focusing efforts on improving the quality of life for its taxpayers, the Mayor and large developers, in an authoritarian style, are attempting to force neighborhoods where people chose to live in low-density areas to raise children to give up their sovereignty under the guise of “affordable housing.”
