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de Blasio’s Great SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Developer Giveaway (Video!)
The greed orgy that is de Blasio’s SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown rezoning is currently before the Land Use Committee of the City Council, which held a public hearing on the matter on November 9. Opponents of the plan greatly outnumbered its proponents, which consisted primarily of Open New York-affiliated individuals (more on them and their fine leadership here); Edison Properties, a developer that would reap tremendous benefits from the upzoning, and two non-profits (Citizens Housing Planning Council and the Regional Plan Association) masquerading as disinterested third parties, even though the aforementioned developer sits on their boards. Every community group, tenant group, preservation organization, and elected official who spoke testified against the plan. Their words served as an eloquent corrective to the risible though persistent narrative by the City that its outrageous plan has something to do with equity. As these things go, however, such testimonies typically find their audience once, if at all, and are then soon forgotten. We therefore decided to make a video highlighting responses to a variety of deficiencies in the plan, in the hopes that it will lead City Councilmembers, especially those representing these neighborhoods — Council members Chin and Rivera and Speaker Johnson — to heed the voices of those would would be most affected by this abomination of a proposal, and vote NO. You can find the video here and a shorter version of it here. Although the speakers covered ample ground in their testimonies, the 2-minute time limit prevented much elaboration or substantiation. To fill in the gaps and get further context and references, read on here. To send a message directly to every member of the City Council urging them to vote no, CLICK HERE. |
This is disgusting. It is a supreme example of favoring the rich and harming the least well off. Citizens of all kinds want less economic inequality. I live in NoHo and want more afforable housing, but not at the expense of huge profits for developers and lots more expensive condos. I live right across the street from a Edison parking lot. I would be very happy with a 100% afforable housing building right there. Just not higher than the other buildings in the neighborhood. That would clearly address the ‘declared’ need. Can’t we be clever and fair by just doing it? Vote NO.