Final hearing on SoHo/NoHo rezoning
plan features continued division
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Hundreds listened to and
spoke out during a sevenhour
virtual hearing that
the City Council’s Land Use Committee
held Nov. 9 regarding the
SoHo/NoHo rezoning plan, the
last in a series of public hearings
about the controversial proposal
to permit greater building in the
historic neighborhoods.
The Nov. 9 hearing occurred
less than a month after the City
Planning Commission (CPC)
gave its unanimous approval of
the plan, which would “upzone”
much of the communities and
permit the construction of 3,500
new homes, about 900 of which
would be designated as affordable
housing.
CPC Chair Anita Laremont,
who testifi ed at Tuesday’s hearing,
stressed that the rezoning
plan would finally unleash a
long-stalled wave of new development
in the community address
economic and housing needs.
Mercer Street in SoHo, as pictured in March 2020 amid the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“Current zoning does not allow
new housing without special
permission, has no affordability
requirements for residential development,
and severely restricts the
use of ground fl oors to industrial
uses,” she testifi ed. “As such, this
restrictive regime has resulted
in extremely limited housing options
that exclude moderate- and
low-income New Yorkers, increases
pressure on surrounding
REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR
neighborhoods and less protected
areas, contributes to storefront
vacancies, and disproportionately
burdens smaller business owners,
who often lack the resources
and capacity to navigate land use
and environmental review processes,
leaving them therefore at
a disadvantage.”
But community activists, including
Village Preservation, have argued
that the SoHo/NoHo rezoning
would do the opposite of its intent
— luring more development while
simultaneously making the area
less affordable to New Yorkers. The
Historic Districts Council further
charged that the proposal would
potentially “be profoundly damaging
to the designated landmark
properties of the historic districts
it encompasses and to the practice
of historic preservation throughout
New York City.”
“Protecting historic buildings
does rely upon having the underlying
zoning match up with the
existing buildings,” the HDC indicated
in its testimony. “If the City
increases the underlying zoning
of these buildings – encouraging
much more bulk than they currently
have – it puts an enormous
strain on the Landmarks Commission
to keep the landmark building
intact. If City Planning says a 15
story building can be built where
a 7 story building currently stands,
how can the Landmarks Commission
say “no”? This baked-in
confl ict strains the system and is
unfair to both property owners
and the agencies.”
Local lawmakers also had a
mixed reaction to the proposal.
The Commercial Observer
reported that Assemblywoman
Deborah Glick testifi ed the plan
served as “an audacious giveaway
to luxury development, guaranteeing
a less diverse and more wealthy
enclave,” while state Senator Brad
Hoylman lamented that the CPC did
not previously alter the proposal to
meet the objections of residents and
create a more agreeable scenario.
But Sheena Kang, senior policy
analyst at Citizens Housing &
Planning Council, argued that the
opposition to the SoHo/NoHo
plan ranged from “mildly misinformed”
to “downright racist.”
“I have watched opponents try
to redefi ne SoHo/NoHo as a lowincome
community of color by manipulating
data and appropriating
the demographics of immigrant
communities living nearby. This
last ploy is not only deeply offensive,
but it also undermines the
very real concerns of communities
in New York City that have dealt
with the impacts of disinvestment
and structural racism for decades,”
Kang said.
Schumer, Velazquez look to
Hispanic Federation for Build
Back Better support
BY DEAN MOSES
Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer joined Representative
Nydia Velazquez and
the Hispanic Federation on Nov.
8 to discuss the impact the Build
Back Better Agenda, if passed, and
the Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act will have on the Latino
community.
Fresh off the plane from a weekend
in Puerto Rico for the SOMOS
conference, and just a few days
after the Bipartisan Infrastructure
Bill passed in the House, Schumer
was all smiles on Nov. 8 and ready
to tout the benefi ts the Build Back
Better Agenda (which Democrats
hope to pass by Thanksgiving) will
have for Hispanic New Yorkers and
the state as a whole.
“This weekend, I was in Puerto
Rico for SOMOS, the annual conference
and I just want to mention
that I was able to visit two sites
that will directly benefi t from
the Build Back Better Agenda,”
Schumer said. “I spoke with the
residents, the communities who
live along the canal that show this
amazing resiliency in the face of
natural disasters that expose health
disparities and damage critical
infrastructure on the island, done
in the poorest of neighborhoods.”
This sweeping introduction
aimed to convey the need for the
bill that looks to tackle everything
from climate change to ensuring
broadband is made affordable and
accessible for those living in less affl
uent locations. Joined by Latinos
for a Better Future, a group of organizations
working to support the
Build the Back Better agenda and
ensuring key policies are included
to help have a positive impact on
the Latino community within the
states and Puerto Rico, especially
a pathway to citizenship, both
Schumer and Velazquez took their
time to underscore its importance.
The Build Back Better Agenda
focuses on social infrastructure
and climate change, such as child
care, healthcare, paid leave, climate
initiatives, housing, education, and
citizenship. However, this bill continues
to stand on unsteady ground
with questioning and reservations
held by a few representatives
who would like to see more fi scal
information regarding the agenda,
causing the vote to once again be
pushed back for another week while
its counterpart, the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act passed.
Schumer and other elected offi
cials are, however, making their
rounds to communities urging for
more support of the Build Back
Better Agenda in hopes that it will
push legislators to vote ‘Yes.’
“We fight for social and
Senator Chuck Schumer joined the Hispanic Federation to
garner support for the Build Back Better Act on Nov. 8.
economic progress that Latino
communities across the states and
Puerto Rico need and deserve in
this country. We believe that Build
Back Better agenda provides our
communities with a real chance
to achieve important goals,” said
Frankie Miranda, President and
CEO of Hispanic Federation,
Velazquez also added that Latino
families will benefi t from the
bill’s efforts to provide child tax,
paid leave, and more.
“Latino families in particular
are feeling the strain of the high
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
cost of childcare. And nearly one
in ten Latino parents report having
to quit, turn down or make a major
change in their job due to childcare
disruptions. Only 19.5% Hispanic,
ages three and four, children are
enrolled in publicly funded preschool
while the average yearly
cost of preschool for those without
access to publicly funded programs
is $8,600 for child care. You tell
me how the working poor can
afford to go into the marketplace
into the labor force and then pay
for childcare,” Velazquez said.
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