Critics say SoHo zone plan falls
short on affordable housing
BY MARK HALLUM
Newly release projections
from the Department
of City Planning (DCP)
show that with the SoHo/NoHo
rezoning, there could be a growth
of up 3,231 new units in the affl uent
section of Lower Manhattan.
But by the DCP’s numbers, no
less than 19% of these housing
units will fall within the scope
of the city’s inclusionary housing
mandates, between about 621 to
940, to fall within the price range
of low income New Yorkers, as
released in a draft of the plan
Oct. 28.
But the primary concern for
one group opposing the plan
centers more around building
height than it does around affordability
with Village Preservation’s
Andrew Berman pointing to de
Blasio donor Edison Properties
which owns two lots within the
rezoning area and believes these
project could grow even larger.
“It is outrageous that the city
wants to increase the allowable
size of development in these
neighborhoods by up to nearly
two and a half times what current
rules allow, which already results
in construction of a huge scale,”
Berman said.
The DCP, however, disagreed
that the SoHo/NoHo Neighborhood
Plan would not allow for
such height by explaining that
any new development must match
the scale and style of pre-existing
buildings throughout the zoning
area regardless of which section
of the two neighborhoods it falls
within, which will be under a
variety of regulations.
“All New York City neighborhoods
must do their part in helping
to build a more affordable and more
equitable city,” agency spokesman
Joe Marvilli said. “We’ve said it
before and we say it again: New
buildings will respect or refl ect the
existing character of these central,
vital, historic districts. Tall towers,
which are currently permitted, will
be banned. All claims that density
will increase in any signifi cant
way, much less two or three times
what it is today, are false.”
DCP also pointed out that the
neighborhood plan presents an
improvement because under the
current 1971 zoning, residential
developments are not authorized
and that existing historic districts
will not be affected.
City Hall’s proposal seeks to
change course from M1-5B zoning
currently designed to allow
for manufacturing and joint
living/workspace for artists in
sections defi ned by Canal Street
to the south, Houston Street and
Astor Place to the north, Lafayette
Street and the Bowery to the
east, and Sixth Avenue and West
Broadway to the west.
As for the claim that de Blasio
donors such as those formerly
within Edison Properties would
benefi t most from the SoHo/
NoHo Neighborhood Plan, a
mayoral spokesman said a return
on campaign favor likely was not
the culprit. One of said donor has
died while the other two within
Edison are no longer with the
organization, he said.
“As sure as the sun rises in the
east, someone will throw the book
at whoever tries to build affordable
housing in this city. We’re not interested
in freezing New York City
in amber,” Mayoral spokesman
Mitch Schwartz said. “It’s time to
reimagine a fairer and better city –
and that means bringing jobs and
housing to SoHo and NoHo.”
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