Please proceed, counselor.
Ms. White, can you tell the board where you live and what's the proximity to the project?
So I am the immediate neighbor at 4281.
This property has been in my family for over 60 years.
Much of what I want to say has already been said as it relates to overcrowding, trash management.
One of my major concerns with this property is the designs, particularly because it's detached.
And I'm not clear what's happening in the detached spaces.
Is that going to be an area for potential loitering, for dumping?
What is our safety as it relates to these areas that are detached?
I'm not sure of what kind of fencing is going to be placed there.
So this is really my concern.
Let me stop you there.
So when you're talking about the space between this new construction and your house,
what's the dimensions that we're talking about?
I'm not real sure on the exact dimensions, but in the design that we were shown, it was detached and it was unclear how those spaces were going to be managed.
So in what you saw, are we talking about something that would be like three or four people, people wide?
It potentially looked like a place where loitering could take place. And the design that we were shown looks like there would be a lot of through traffic that could even be coming from the Parkside area. I was really unclear as to how that area was going to be managed.
And I was also concerned that could potential dumping be in those areas when the dumpster is over, you know, overgrown.
If you're talking about 16 units, could potentially be 30 plus people or more, not to mention visitors.
You're talking about a major influx of individuals.
And we know trash and we know all of these things that come with that.
And that has not really been cleared.
If you talk about one dumpster, is it going to be empty once a week, twice a week?
We're not clear how these things are going to be managed.
Have you had an opportunity to talk to the developer or anybody on his team about these concerns?
Well, we've we had a brief discussion, but not to the depth that I that I would like to go into.
It was it was a major concern for me how these detached spaces would be handled.
And as you can see, the lots right now are severely overgrown.
We don't really know what's beyond those gates.
So, you know, I think as a good neighbor, just mowing those lawns would demonstrate, you know, an act of being a good neighbor. And that's critical. You have to be a good neighbor. You know, we've got people who've been living on this block for many, many years. We're a strong community. We're a strong bot. There's legacy here. People, we could have moved.
we're a strong community we're a strong bot there's legacy here people we could have moved
anywhere but we chose to stay on viola street all of these years because we believe in viola street
we believe in in the in this family we've created and we want to bring new people into that into
that harmony with all the things that are going on in this city right now we want to be able to
to live in harmony not bringing so many people into such a little space that's all we're saying
we're looking at our quality of life you know what is the quality of the life of the people
who have invested in this block this is not we're not fly by night people 60 years my family has
this building has this this home has been in my family for 60 years and I didn't want to see it
out of my home, out of my family. I wanted to preserve what my family's legacy was. And that's
why we chose to continue and purchase this property. And it really saddens me to see that
we could be, you know, our safety. We're talking about our safety. We're talking about our livelihood.
We don't know how many people this structure could include. And the block is already overcrowded.
You only have parking on one side. If you were to come down this block in the middle of the night, you would see cars all over the place parked illegally. Now, imagine that all of these new units, where are these people going to park? The children are on the block. There's safety for the children, even trying to cross the street.
We want to work with the developers being good neighbors. How can we all live together? How can
we all exist together in harmony? And everybody is a win-win for everybody. We're not saying we
don't want development, but 16 units in this small location, it's just too much.
Do you have a sense of what, of how many units you would feel comfortable with and feel safe
next door to you? I think it's only to be consistent. Right now, there's three apartments
per lot on this block. The consistency. That's even bringing nine new units. That's still a lot
of people, but at least it's consistent. You've got people here today who are concerned about
where they live. This is all we have. This is all we have. It's our legacy.
Thank you. Do you have anything more? Hold on. Hold on. That's all.
Council, do you have any questions? Just one question. Ms. White, so your testimony is
that you have some design-related and maybe site layout concerns, but that you are not
necessarily opposed to multifamily in this location? Not necessarily. Not necessarily.
If it's brought in a correct way, if the design makes sense,
it has to make sense. We can't have overcrowding. And we've expressed this to the developer. We've
expressed this several times. I have nothing further for Ms. White.
Thank you for your testimony. We appreciate you. Steve, next person.
Yeah. Last person I'm calling is the head of another RCO, the East Parkside RCO, Brian Harris.
Is he on the phone? He should be. Okay.
Do we see him in the virtual audience?
We're checking now, Chair. Here he is.
He's being promoted to panelists.
Hello.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Brian Harris.
B-R-Y-A-N-H-A-R-R-I-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I certainly do.
Thank you.
Please proceed, Steve.
Mr. Harris, can you put your video on?
Is that possible?
My video on for me?
I just wanted the board to see you.
Can you see me?
I turned it on, but I don't think it's possible.
But I turned it on.
Can the staff promote him so that he could be a panelist?
Yes, he's promoted.
Oh, okay.
okay all right all right sorry about that all right uh mr harris um can you explain to the
to the board what your position is in this in the civic groups in your neighborhood
i'm the chairman of the east parkside resident association rco long time
parkside resident association rco long-time resident uh hope did that is that what you're
asking you see yes how long have you been a leader of the community there 35 years i've
lived in the community 35 years okay and in terms of leadership and your position has that been for
for a while uh yes uh six seven years
so you have some prepared remarks i think so why don't you start your prepared remarks and then
i'll ask you any questions that that uh that if you haven't covered certain things thank you so
good morning and thank uh the call thanks the uh thank you for allowing me to speak this morning
real quickly i just want to just highlight the point that what we're facing in east parkside is
a density crisis i live on parkside avenue and i've seen firsthand how this crisis is affecting
our daily lives, our safety, and the quality of our life is definitely in jeopardy. So it's really
changing the whole fabric of our community, all this density. Let me give you just one example.
Right next door, in one of Mr. Yacobo's existing apartment buildings, tenants recently had a
birthday party, not in their apartment, but on the sidewalk. Why? Because the units are so small,
they can't accommodate a simple gathering. What resulted was loud music, vulgar language,
and a complete disruption to the block.
Now, that's not an isolated incident,
but that's the result of overcrowding.
People are parking on sidewalks on Viola Street,
as everybody's mentioned.
Crime is increasing.
In fact, just last week, in broad daylight,
someone broke into my car while a neighbor watched helplessly.
There was even a fatal car accident last year.
These were all symptoms, I believe,
of the overdevelopment and lack of thoughtful planning
that's going on in our community.
But here's what's happening.
The developer has already torn down five residential homes to build 49 apartments at 4274 Parkside.
And then now he wants to demolish three more buildings so he can put 16 apartments into the tiny Viola Street, a street that previously housed just three families.
That would mean 65 families replacing eight or approximately 130 people if they're married and don't even have any children in a space that was built for a fraction of that.
So let's be clear. Small units can be livable if balanced and adequate infrastructure is included with an open space.
but that's not what's happening here. A healthy standard recommends at least 150 to 200 square
feet per person, yet we're seeing three people crammed into three and 400 square foot apartments,
so it's no surprise that these tenants are pushed out into the sidewalk to socialize.
And this isn't an isolated project. Just within 150 feet radius of the 4283 Viola Street property,
The developer has been approved for 83 apartments on the west side of Belmont, 21 apartments on the east side of Belmont, 12 artist studio apartments at Belmont Parkside, 49 now at this 4274 Parkside Avenue address, and now he wants 16 more on Viola Street.
That's 181 apartments in a three-year period with minimal community input.
The community has spoken.
At Belmont and Parkside, we voted 100 to 0 against this developer
and his desire to have 12 units at Belmont and Parkside.
Yet eight artist studios and four apartments were approved without proper process.
We are not anti-development.
We are asking for responsible development, development that honors the scale.
and beauty of our location. The centennial, the 1876 centennial happened right here in this
community. We want to preserve that legacy. We want the zoning board, we want Mr. Jacoboff,
we want to collectively work together so that this community can be safe, be livable, be beautiful,
and not be overcrowded. Thank you for allowing me to speak. I have no further questions. Council?
Thank you. Mr. Harris, just a couple of quick questions for you. You mentioned the development
at 4274 Parkside Avenue.
It's your understanding that that is a buy-write project, correct?
Correct.
Can I speak to that a little bit?
Because that buy-write project borrowed space from 4262 Parkside,
which means that it's not even really something the community had a chance to speak to.
So if I could ask...
Go ahead, I'm sorry.
So why don't you go to your next question?
Mr. Harris, since you did keep talking,
So you mentioned that the community did not have an opportunity to speak to it.
Right.
Were you present at the voluntary meeting that the developer had to discuss that buy-right project?
Were you present at the voluntary meeting that the developer had?
This is after the fact he got the right to do it. Yes, I was at that meeting.
You're talking your testimony about lack of open space.
Can you confirm that Fairmount Park is uniquely right across Parkside Avenue?
Yes, I can confirm that.
That's why we all moved there, because of the beauty and the open space of the park.
So now we're going to put 49 residents where eight families, where five families used to be.
So, yeah, you're right.
When those people come from Viola Street through to Parkside Avenue through this new space he's creating,
disturbing the privacy of the 49 residents that he's going to be putting there to get to that beautiful park,
we really have a difficult overcrowding density problem.
I think you would agree.
That's all I have for Mr. Harris.
Thank you very much.
Steve, is that your case?
Yes, that is our case.
With the caveat that we...
I understand.
We want to see where the next
or where murder goes, right?
Counsel, do you want to respond?
I would like to bring Mr. Yakubov
to specifically rebut testimony
that's been offered.
He's coming back in as a panelist. Thank you.
Good morning. Good morning. Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Sure. German Yakubov, G-E-R-M-A-N-Y-A-K-U-B-O-V. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do so swear and affirm. All right. Please proceed,
counsel. Thank you. German, I want to just start sort of backwards chronological order here with
a discrete issue that Ms. Smith raised. Ms. Smith showed photographs of 4204 through 06 Parkside
Avenue and its, you know, condition. Can you just briefly in a minute or two explain to the board
the situation with that property, those two properties? Yes. So we've owned 4204 and 06
Parkside Avenue for about nine years, I think since 2016. There was a fire there. We had
squatters there. We attempted to rehab the building and it's zoned as a single family.
Those two massive buildings collectively, I believe 10 or 11,000 square feet are zoned as
single family. We came to the zoning board seeking a use variance only. We weren't going to do
anything to the exterior of the building. We wanted to just put eight units in each one of
those buildings for collectively 16 units, because that's the only way that we were going to make the
project financially feasible. It is a historic structure. Each one of those bay windows is about
$15,000 per window. So the zoning board denied our request because the community did not want
16 units. The amount of units that were granted, I believe, were 10 or 12. And that just doesn't
make financial sense to build them that way, given the size of it. We did a building at 4262
Parkside, which is adjacent to Mr. Harris's property, that was seven units that we rehabbed
that also had a fire. And we were able to successfully rehabilitate that building because