Supporting John Mangin for BSA Chair

New York Housing Conference, Citizens Housing and Planning Council and NYSAFAH are leading a sign-on letter supporting the nomination of John Mangin to be Chair of the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals. John Mangin is highly qualified for the role and is well-suited to fulfill the administrative duties of the office while helping address the city’s housing crisis.

We are calling on partners to join our sign-on letter calling on the City Council to approve Mangin’s appointment. You can add your organization by signing the form here:

Dear Speaker Menin and Members of the New York City Council,

We, the undersigned organizations, are writing to express our support for the nomination of John Mangin to Chair the Board of Standards and Appeals. He is highly qualified for the role and is well-suited to fulfill the administrative duties of the office while helping address the city’s housing crisis.

The Board of Standards and Appeals is responsible for reviewing applications for zoning variances, zoning appeals, and the project-based relief allowed for new affordable housing developments under the Charter revisions recently approved by voters. The BSA is not a policymaking body or one that acts with broad discretion; it is responsible for administering its responsibilities under parameters established by law. Yet it is vitally important that the BSA’s review of affordable housing applications be technically sound, fair-minded, and timely. The appointment of a highly qualified leader to administer the new BSA procedures provides a bellwether of the City’s commitment to sustained affordable housing production.

John Mangin’s training as an attorney, expertise in land use and planning, and experience with the administration of applications for public approvals are precisely the type of background needed for the leader of the BSA. As a career public servant who early on recognized the severe affordability implications of our housing supply crisis, his appointment is particularly suited to the present moment, and his work has consistently displayed a commitment to the integrity and value of the institutions of government.

Our housing crisis is acute and growing – the vacancy rate was 1.4 percent, the lowest rate in 50 years, and nearly 500,000 households were severely rent burdened in 2023. To address the crisis, the city needs to increase housing supply and affordable housing. John Mangin’s expertise will help BSA carry out its role in this context.

As the Council performs its advice and consent on Mangin’s nomination, we strongly urge it to approve his appointment.

Sincerely,

Citizens Housing and Planning Council
New York Housing Conference
NYSAFAH