The CPC voted 9-0 in favor of the proposal, which would pave the way for roughly 8,200 new apartments by 2035. The plan will now head to the City Council for final binding vote within the next 50 days.
The de Blasio administration wants to upzone a 56-block swath of the Lower Manhattan neighborhoods, where elite boutiques and wealthy arrivistes have replaced the manufacturing sites and artists that characterized the area a half-century ago.
‘Time and time again, we have seen the concerns of community members come to fruition, as rezonings have led to rampant gentrification and displacement in working class communities of color across the city.’
Housing advocacy groups and some elected officials have been pushing for years for the city to adopt a comprehensive plan, and an earlier effort to do so was abandoned during the City Charter Revision process in 2019.
The Commission voted 11 to 1 in favor of the factious rezoning application, which would expand the Sunset Park manufacturing and innovation hub by 1.46 million square feet.
Carlos Menchaca, the council member whose district includes Industry City, said he would reject the application, setting off a debate over whether a single lawmaker should hold up a development project with potential citywide impact.
Online City Planning Commission meetings and hearings will begin in August, in time to move ahead with a plan to rezone Gowanus.
‘Building supertall finger buildings that allow high sales prices based on the views they let inhabitants own hurts neighborhoods by blocking light and air from other buildings and public streets.’
Opposition to the towers is vocal, and the oppositions’ strategies are varied: Some want to force a land-use review via legislation, while others are threatening a lawsuit.
Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez’s community meeting on Sunday came midway through the public review procedure through which the Inwood rezoning will be approved or disproved.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
