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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Push for Rezoning in SoHo Lacks DeBlasio Support; Higher Housing Density at Stake

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By: Ilana Siyance

Rezoning for the SoHo or NoHo neighborhoods may remain an aloof idea.

On Friday, Mayor Bill de Blasio made a point of clarifying that the proposed zoning change to allow the construction of new housing in two of the Big Apple’s priciest neighborhoods is still far off. “Can we put together the support to get something like [SoHo rezoning] done?” the mayor said. “I’m not sure of that at this point.”

As reported by Crain’s NY, activists, including “yes in my backyard”, have been pushing for new zoning which would allow higher housing density in SoHo. When questioned about it, Mayor de Blasio told WNYC’s Brian Lehrer on the NY public radio show that he and his administration are putting their emphasis in “the places we are convinced we can get something done.”

Housing advocates, including Open New York and the Housing Rights Initiative, have been trying to press de Blasio to work to rezone SoHo to enable more affordable housing to be built. Other NYC rezoning efforts headed by the mayor seem to be unsuccessful due to fierce neighborhood opposition. This month rezoning efforts for Bushwick, Brooklyn crumbled after four years of planning. The Inwood rezoning plans are also on hold as of December, as per the order of a judge.

Supporters admit that SoHo is both richer and has more of a white population than any neighborhood the de Blasio administration has tried to rezone. Getting approval for affordable housing in such a wealthy neighborhood will undeniably be more of a challenge.

The mayor said “of course” the city wants affordable housing in neighborhoods of all income levels. “If the question is Do we need more affordable housing in areas of the city that are privileged … of course the answer is yes,” de Blasio said. But he conceded that residents there will resist the rezoning and wish to preserve the historical nature of the SoHo neighborhood.

The city never committed to rezoning in the neighborhood, but for over a year now they have been working toward some kind of land-use changes there. Towards the end of 2019, the city released a report entitled Envision SoHo/NoHo, which touched upon potential zoning changes for SoHo, along with neighboring NoHo, recommending that city planners explore areas in the neighborhood where density could be increased. This month, when the findings of the report were discussed with Manhattan’s Community Board, residents were quick to stand up against allowing higher housing density.

Other than the Mayor’s aforementioned comments, the city’s Planning Department has not yet responded or declared its decision about whether or not it would be moving forward with any zoning change for SoHo.

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