Fight continues over SoHo-NoHo Initiative
BY SOFIA CERDA CAMPERO
Dozens of people gathered on
Jan. 23 for the full Community
Board 2 meeting at the Scholastic
building in SoHo. Once again, the
dispute over fair housing and the Envision
SoHo/NoHo plan, a possible new
development that seeks improvement
and innovation in the area, was the main
topic on the table.
Other issues included the AB-5, a
California bill which does not grant protections
to independent contractors; The
Street Vendor Project resolution, which
protects vendors from getting billed and
helps them grow their business through
training; and the accountability of the
MTA, were also discussed.
The Envision SoHo/NoHo report, an
86-page document published in November
by Manhattan Borough President
Gale Brewer, the Department of City
Planning and Councilwoman Margaret
Chin, details a list of recommendations
such as improving the quality of life
for neighbors and workers in the area,
encouraging neighborhood diversity, and
promoting economic vitality.
These also include repealing regulations
that ban ground-floor retail, allowing
retail space at 10,000 square feet.
This initiative was met with backlash
from local residents and coalitions
such as Open New York For All, a prohousing
project that aims to rezone
Two 5th Pct. officers flunk ‘integrity test,’ get cuffed
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Two members of the 5th Precinct
were arrested for allegedly stealing
cash during an “integrity
test” held by the department, prosecutors
announced Tuesday.
Police Officer Joseph Stokes, 40, was
charged with grand larceny and official
misconduct, and Officer Jose Aracena,
35, was charged with petit larceny and
official misconduct.
“These officers are accused of
stealing from someone they believed
to be the perpetrator of a crime – in
other words, someone who might
have been met with disbelief had they
come forward to report a theft by
police officers,” said District Attorney
Cyrus Vance. “Crimes committed by
members of law enforcement threaten
the essential public trust that our
communities place in us, and will be
vigorously prosecuted by my Office’s
The Jan. 23 CB2 meeting.
the area in an attempt to make it more
affordable.
In a board meeting on Jan. 16, Anita
Brandt, the co-chair of the CB 2 Land
Use Committee said, “I think that one
of the great things about New York City
is that every neighborhood contributes
something different. And so, what we’re
contributing in SoHo with our cast-iron
and cobblestones… I don’t feel that we
should be responsible for producing
as much affordable housing as other
neighborhoods.”
To anti-development activists, these
remarks were highly controversial, as it
seemed that the project aimed to replace
affordable housing with cobblestones
and fancy buildings.
The fight for pro-housing rezoning
Public Corruption Unit.”
According to charges, at 1:45 a.m. on
Oct. 20, 2019, the NYPD performed an
integrity test on Stokes and Aracena.
During the test, the officers arrested an
undercover officer, who was posing as
states that having affordable housing in
wealthy areas of the city would be a key
part of ending segregation. Comptroller
Scott Stringer estimates that since 2009,
the city has added 500,000 residents, yet
only 100,000 homes, causing rents to
rise 24%.
“Who is a stakeholder in the SoHo
rezoning?” asked Dan Miller, treasurer
of New York for All. “A lot of people
in this room have been vociferous in
saying the only stakeholders are people
who live in SoHo/NoHo, or work in
SoHo/NoHo. We should reject that
wholeheartedly.”
Miller stated that the community
board law in New York City is set up to
not only include the voices of residents
but to include all relevant people.
PHOTO VIA SHUTTERSTOCK
an intoxicated driver, at a traffic stop
on Stanton and Orchard Streets on the
Lower East Side.
During the arrest, Stokes and
Aracena brought the undercover officer
to the 7th Precinct stationhouse
PHOTO BY SOFÍA CERDA CAMPERO
“The relevant audience for a decision
of this magnitude is citywide,” he said,
stating he has personally been affected
by the increase in rent throughout all
boroughs. “I urge the board to think of
the people who have come to you asking
to take their interest into account.”
Although the next steps on this initiative
have remained undecided, on Jan.
24, Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed the issue
on the Brian Lehrer Show, saying, “A
really important plan came out recently
that showed a pathway to create more affordable
housing in Lower Manhattan.”
He said they would have to further look
at its viability in the coming months and
years, adding, “We have to create affordable
housing everywhere if we want to
keep this city a city for everyone.”
for processing and they allegedly
separately searched the “perp’s” car.
During the search, Stokes allegedly
found several “stash cans” – hollow
containers of hidden money disguised
as fruit punch – containing approximately
$4,800. Surveillance footage
allegedly shows Stokes hiding the
cans under his own car in the parking
lot.
The money was never vouchered and
members of the Internal Affairs Bureau
found the two cans under Stokes’s car
later that day.
Hidden cameras inside the undercover
officers’s car allegedly captured
Aracena taking $120 from inside the
glove compartment and $100 from the
center console while he searched the
car for registration paperwork. That
money was never vouchered and Aracena
allegedly told Stokes and another
officer that there was no money in the
car when he searched it.
Schneps Media January 30, 2020 3