Marte gears up for Chinatown rezoning fi ght
BY MAX PARROTT
Weeks before he enters offi ce,
Councilmember-elect Christopher
Marte, successor to termlimited
Councilmember Margaret Chin in
the Lower Manhattan district, is gearing up
to renew the fi ght for a Chinatown rezoning.
Marte says his central focus as a councilmember
will be the full implementation
of a rezoning proposed by a grassroots
organization named the Chinatown Working
Group (CWG) in 2013 to help preserve
the affordability of the neighborhood by
creating a “Special District” spanning
Chinatown and the Lower East Side.
The plan would place height limits on
new development, enact policies to protect
against tenant harassment and create
zoning laws that would require affordable
housing beyond the city’s mandatory inclusionary
housing regulations with the aim of
stemming the displacement of immigrant,
working class and public housing residents.
“Passing the Chinatown Working Group
plan is my top priority as a Councilmember.
It was what I ran on in 2017, and what there
is clearly a mandate for in this district,” said
Marte, who won the seat in November after
a narrow loss to Chin in 2017. Marte won the
seat with 69 percent of the vote in November.
COURTESY OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBER-ELECT CHRISTOPHER MARTE
City Council Member-elect Christopher Marte speaks at a recent rally.
As it was proposed in 2013, the plan
divides the neighborhood into fi ve subdistricts,
each with their own zoning codes
requiring new developments to set aside 40
percent to 55 percent of a building’s units
for affordable housing, with affordable
defi ned as under 50 percent of the Area
Median Income from 2013.
At a meeting of the CWG on Monday
night, Conner Allerton, Marte’s land use
director, updated the group on the work
that Marte’s offi ce has been undertaking to
put out a shortened and updated version of
the CWG plan to be released before the end
of the year, so that the Councilman-elect
can start lobbying for it immediately.
“A big part of that is incorporating
updated data, which a lot of it is similar or
consistent with the issues that have been
raised in the past that were the impetus for
the plan,” Allerton said.
Marte added that the goal is not to
change the plan, but to get it ready to
propose it to the city again.
In 2015, the Department of City Planning
(DCP) rejected the CWG proposal
on the basis that it was too wide-ranging
and suggested the group create a narrower
proposal that was limited to the subdistricts
in Chinatown. The city also resisted the
plan based on concerns that its affordability
targets were so high that it would discourage
developers from building at all.
“The Chinatown Working Group plan
doesn’t stop development, it stops displacement,”
Marte said in an email, adding, “Developments
that provide affordable places
to live are in increasingly short supply in
Lower Manhattan, and the CWG is a great
opportunity to change that.”
Marte did not make it clear whether he
has had a chance to talk to Mayor-elect
Adams or anyone from his staff about the
plan, but said he is taking every opportunity
when talking with future colleagues and
elected offi cials, to reiterate the importance
of the plan.
One update that Marte may need to
make will depend on the outcome of the
proposed Soho/Noho rezoning, which the
CWG has vehemently opposed.
There are several overlaps between the
borders of that rezoning and those in the
CWG plan. The rezoning is expected to
go before the Council for a vote over the
next week. Marte has argued that the vote
should be left to the next administration.
East River Park activists cuffed for again blocking resiliency worksite
BY DEAN MOSES
East River Park activists blocked the
resuming construction of the East
Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR),
leading to three individuals cuffed.
On Dec. 6, activists from 1000 people,
1000 trees and East River Park Action
gathered at the amphitheater across from
the Corlears Hook Park footbridge, to demand
construction be immediately halted.
The group’s main issue is the proposed
removal of some 1,000 trees—something
they feel will have a dire impact on the
quality of air in the area.
Standing in a circle and chanting, “Save
the trees!” dozens of protesters blocked
the way, preventing workmen and their
machinery from accessing the construction
zone. The unrelenting demonstrators soon
drew the ire of the workman, leading to
911 calls.
As offi cers arrived at the scene, they
attempted to persuade the group to leave,
stating that the activists were trespassing.
However, law enforcement was met with
resistance as protesters stated: “How is
it trespassing if this is a public park?” to
which an offi cer stated, “This area is the
Parks Department.”
Park protesters are accosted by an NYPD officer for blocking construction on
Dec. 6.
Zip cable ties were placed around the
wrists of those refusing to leave the site,
ultimately resulting in three arrests being
made.
“They are taking us! We will not accept
the sacrifi ce of our community, of our
trees,” Alice O’Malley shouted as she was
placed under arrest. “All we are asking for
is a review! Just look at the layout, why
was the layout switched? We are just asking
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
for another review, it’s not that much of
an ask.”
In response to the protest and the arrests,
DDC underscored what they feel to
be the importance of the project for the
community as a whole.
“East Side Coastal Resiliency is an essential
project that will protect over 100,000
residents in lower Manhattan, communities
hard hit by Sandy, from the effects of future
storm surges and tidal fl ooding,” according
to a statement.
Incoming City Council member Christopher
Marte attended the rally in the
morning prior to the arrests and told
amNewYork Metro that he has special
relationship with East River Park having
grown up there believes the community has
been silenced.
“Our community needs those trees to
clean our air, and saplings that will be
planted years from now will come too late
for the damage that reduced air quality will
have on our neighborhood. It’s unconscionable
that the City thinks we must destroy
a park to save the planet. The activists fi ghting
to save this park and to implement real
fl ood resiliency give me hope that this fi ght
is still not over,” he added.
On the opposite side of this contentious
issue, a spokesperson from the NYC Parks
Department had this to say: “The East Side
Coastal Resiliency project will save lives
and provide much-needed fl ood protection
for more than 100,000 New Yorkers in this
area. This critical open space improvement
project will ensure that these waterfront
parks are accessible and resilient for the
surrounding community in the face of our
daunting climate future.”
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