Harlem Plan To Progress With Solon's Approval

By BENJAMIN SARLIN, Special to the Sun
April 16, 2008

With Council Member Inez Dickens of Harlem voicing her approval, the Bloomberg administration's plan to rezone 125th Street to expand commercial and residential development is likely to move forward later this month. In announcing her support, Ms. Dickens yesterday cited a variety of recent changes to the plan as signs that she was successful in negotiating with the Department of City Planning on her constituents' behalf.

At a hearing earlier this month, Ms. Dickens said she would block the rezoning unless the plan included more concessions to the community, and some community groups said it would displace local businesses and residents and alter the community's character. Mayor Bloomberg backed the original rezoning plan, saying it was necessary to protect Harlem residents and merchants from being pushed out by a development boom in the area.

Modifications to the proposed rezoning include a reduction in the maximum building height to 195 feet from 290 feet, the creation of a forgivable loan program to help businesses affected by the rezoning relocate elsewhere, and the allocation of about $6 million for improvements to Marcus Garvey Park. Forty-six percent of the new housing units created under the plan will be income-targeted, using a combination of incentives to builders to provide "affordable housing" as well as an agreement with the city to create more public housing units.

"After many long hours of deliberations, disagreements, and debate, I do believe that the City Planning Commission heard me loud and clear," Ms. Dickens said yesterday in a statement. "It is my opinion that all of the components I have worked so hard to secure will honor Harlem's past, claim Harlem's present, and provide for Harlem's bright expansive future."

The City Council's Committee on Zoning and Franchises approved the rezoning yesterday 10–1, with the committee's chairman, Council Member Tony Avella, casting the lone dissenting vote. The city's legislature typically votes with the representative whose district would be most affected by zoning changes, which in this case is Ms. Dickens.