Remarks by Shane Cohn
10 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 1
- Play at 2:11:59
“Thank you Alderman Aldridge, members of the committee and others from the public that have testified today. This is obviously an issue that's very important to many people in our city and in particular to the residents of Homer G. Phillips. I've had the pleasure of being there and hearing from many of the residents and seeing firsthand some of their concerns with respect to the wear and tear, the broken windows, the safety concerns with regard to the lighting and the fence, and certainly heard their concerns around heating and cooling and water damage to various units. And so I guess my…”
Housing, Urban Development and Zoning · Oct 6, 2026
- Play at 2:15:10
“So, I guess maybe be a little bit more direct though, you know, the rent that's being collected, you all were the recipients of that, correct? The rent that the tenants were paying, you all would have been the recipients of that rent.”
Housing, Urban Development and Zoning · Oct 6, 2026
- Play at 2:15:35
“And have you turned over, I know that you said that this is part of an investment fund and things of that nature, but have you turned over those financials to the comptroller's office for an audit? Because I think one of the concerns that people have is what happened to the rent? Why has the building deteriorated to the point that it is now when people are paying their rent? Mm-hmm.”
Housing, Urban Development and Zoning · Oct 6, 2026
- Play at 2:17:50
“Okay. Thank you for the additional information. Do we still have the representative from CIG? Yes, we do. I can't see the room for some reason. You can go ahead when you're ready, Alderman. So can you just, we've heard a lot in the last two or so hours. How are you going to address the concerns of the residents of the hospital that they are going to have adequate living conditions, that they're not going to have holes in their roof, that they're not going to have HVAC that isn't working, that they're not going to have plumbing or other water damage related issues in their units. There have…”
Housing, Urban Development and Zoning · Oct 6, 2026
- Play at 2:23:32
“So just talking a little bit more about the vacancy, what is the current vacancy rate?”
Housing, Urban Development and Zoning · Oct 6, 2026
- Play at 2:24:25
“Yeah, I mean, what would be your target? That's good to hear that occupancy has gone up. Obviously, that helps with the bottom line when you're talking about maintenance and other costs. But also, depending upon tenant screening processes and other issues, you could be looking at other concerns that can impact the amount of money that you're bringing into the building to support the tenants and residents there as well. So what would be your ideal occupancy rate and what is your plan to get the building occupied to that target number?”
Housing, Urban Development and Zoning · Oct 6, 2026
- Play at 2:26:27
“So my question though, so what is your target occupancy rate and what is your, we've already talked about what improvements you're going to be making to the facility. Is it your intent that, you know, once those capital improvements are made, then you won't have an issue or once the capital improvements and safety that you won't have to deal with, you know, tenant recruitment in order to reach that occupancy limit you know I guess or occupancy goal what is your ultimate occupancy goal and what is the plan to get there um so the answer is yes I think it's a cycle that you know it's a broken…”
Housing, Urban Development and Zoning · Oct 6, 2026
- Play at 2:27:36
“do hope as well that we've had, you know, the conversations that, you know, have been referenced in terms of, uh, the, the financials. And, um, you know, I know that the comptroller's office and, you know, the sponsor of this bill have had some conversations around using that $50,000 rent payment in terms of establishing a fund for, um, you know, an emergency fund, if you will, to help with, you know, any types of situations that might arise with the building. I think that, you know, that's something that I certainly would be supportive of since the land is owned by the city and we have this,…”
Housing, Urban Development and Zoning · Oct 6, 2026
- Play at 2:30:40
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Housing, Urban Development and Zoning · Oct 6, 2026
- Play at 2:32:11
“Okay. All right. That's all the questions I have for now, Madam Chair. I'll allow my other colleagues the opportunity to inquire.”
Housing, Urban Development and Zoning · Oct 6, 2026