Supporters say it will create a fairer, more affordable community.
Opponents call it entrenched racism that “privileges the priorities of
developers.”
And with the New York Court of Appeals decision on Monday
not to hear advocates’ case against the Inwood Rezoning, the acrimony is unlikely
to dissipate as both sides dig in for the long haul.
Cheryl Pahaham, co-chair of Inwood Legal Action, the group
which brought the appeal, said: “We have been building and continuing to
develop a Federal Fair Housing lawsuit against the City of New York and
organizing with other communities to join us in that effort.
“Inwood Legal Action will keep fighting for reforms that
give New Yorkers community-based planning, housing, and land use policies that
we deserve.”
Meanwhile, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez is looking forward to bringing the long-in-the-making plan to fruition.
“We will preserve and build thousands of affordable
apartments and see millions of dollars in investments for our community. As
Councilmember for Northern Manhattan, I will continue to work alongside all
stakeholders to bring this vision to fruition.”
The plan – which was first approved by the City Council in
2018 – will extend residential Inwood eastward across 10th Avenue to the Harlem
River, transforming land currently zoned for manufacturing as well as 10 acres
of parking lots into homes and public open space.
It will create 1,600 affordable homes, according to the city,
and preserve 2,500 more while creating new waterfront parks and open space.
There will be a new state-of-the-art Inwood Library with a Pre-K for All facility,
a youth STEM education center focused on robotics, and a cultural and job
training center.
$50 million will be invested in “local school infrastructure
and expanded programming in science, technology, engineering, and math,” and an
Immigrant Research Center and Performing Arts space will “celebrate the
contributions of generations of immigrants to the rich history and culture of
Northern Manhattan.”
The rezoning will also encourage affordable retail,
according to the EDC, by requiring long-term leases with limited rent increases
in City-financed development projects.
“This is good news for Inwood and for the entire City,” said
James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York of the Appeals
Court decision that will allow the re-zoning to proceed.
“The thoughtful, community-driven Inwood rezoning plan will produce or preserve approximately 5,000 below-market rate homes, create thousands of good jobs, strengthen the neighborhood and spark much-needed economic activity as New York City continues to confront unprecedented economic challenges.”
But Inwood Legal Action criticized the court for declining
to offer an explanation for its refusal to hear the appeal and vowed to
continue its fight.
In its original lawsuit, the group called on the City of New
York to study the impact of the Inwood rezoning on Latinx, Black, Asian, and
Native Inwood residents and Inwood’s minority- and women-owned businesses.
Justice Verna Saunders ruled in our favor and annulled the Inwood rezoning in
her December 19, 2019 decision, and called on the City of New York to study
these impacts before proceeding with the Inwood rezoning.
The city said it engaged more than 2,500 residents and local
stakeholders in planning for the long-term future of Inwood and creating a set
of strategies and actions to achieve community-identified priorities and the
State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division for the First Department overturned
the lower-court ruling, reinstating the rezoning.
Inwood Legal Action (ILA) is now demanding that New York
City cease and desist in its refusal to examine the impacts of its large
rezonings on its Asian, Black, Latinx, and Native residents.
Citing research from the Pratt Institute that shows targeted rezonings have displaced tens of thousands of working people of color in the wake of market rate luxury development, ILA’s Pahaham said, “This decision makes our fight to enact a racial impact study mandate even more urgent, as it will compel our policymakers to see what they have been ignoring for decades – that these rezonings do have racially disparate impact, and that they harm Asian, Black, Latinx, and Native City residents.”
Last month, the Thriving Communities Coalition of community
and advocacy groups kicked off a new campaign to transform New York City’s
approach to land use and planning.
Emily Goldstein, director of Organizing & Advocacy,
Association of Neighborhood and Housing Development, said, “We cannot afford to
continue the status quo approach to planning, which consistently reinforces a
geography of ever-deepening racial and economic inequality.
“We believe the Thriving Communities Coalition platform will
advance the systemic changes to New York’s land use and budgeting processes
that are needed to build an equitable future for our City.”
