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Category: Upzoning SoHo/NoHo

Victory: Punitive SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Measure Vetoed!

We are thrilled to report that late Friday Mayor Adams vetoed a draconian, punitive measure we opposed introduced by (now former) City Councilmember Margaret Chin and approved in December by the City Council (including local Councilmembers Carlina Rivera and Corey Johnson). That measure would have imposed crippling fines on noncertified artist residents of certain types of […]

SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Rezoning Reminder: Final Vote as Soon as Wednesday, Call and E-Mail TODAY

The full City Council appears poised to vote on the revised SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Upzoning+Displacement Plan as soon as this Wednesday (full Council is currently scheduled to meet at 1:30 pm). It’s CRITICAL that City Councilmembers hear from you NOW that the revised plan — which would still promote grossly oversized development, the demolition of rent-regulated affordable […]

Analysis of de Blasio’s Big SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Lie

We have a new video for you! But first, let us recapitulate how we got here…  An extremely profitable displacement plan is what de Blasio wants to give SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown landlords for Christmas. The City Council’s Zoning Subcommittee is about to vote on it and likely determine its fate. From the outset, the City has rationalized […]

City Council Committee Approves SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Upzoning + Displacement Plan With Modifications

Yesterday the City Council’s Zoning Subcommittee and Land Use Committee each voted to approve a revised SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Upzoning + Displacement Plan, with changes negotiated by Councilmembers Margaret Chin and Carlina Rivera, who urged their colleagues on the committee to support the plan. All but one did. In short, the revised plan is a bit less […]

Council Appears Poised to Vote on SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Plan TODAY, as New Financial Analysis Shows Fatal Flaws in Affordable Housing Claims

After several delays, the City Council’s Zoning Subcommittee and Land Use Committee appear poised to vote on the massive SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Upzoning + Displacement plan today starting at approximately 11:30 am. There has been no public word on what if any changes the Council may make to the plan, though we have good reason to believe […]

City Council Vote On SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Pushed Back to Week of December 6 — CALL AND WRITE NOW!

The vote on Mayor de Blasio’s SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Upzoning+Displacement plan, originally expected this Thursday, has now been pushed back to next week, with the first vote in the Council’s Zoning Subcommittee as early as next Tuesday. While we understand changes to the plan are being considered by the Council, most if not all appear to be […]

SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Vote Likely This Week — Flood the City Council with Calls and Letters

The City Council’s Zoning Subcommittee will vote on the Mayor’s SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Upzoning+Displacement plan as early as this Thursday, setting the stage for the final decision by the full City Council. It’s critical that Councilmembers hear from you NOW! Call your councilmember and tell them to vote NO. Tell them changes aren’t enough, the plan needs […]

SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Rezoning Vote Likely After Thanksgiving; Video and Final Push for ‘No’ Vote

The first (and in many ways most important) of three required votes in the City Council on the Mayor’s disastrous SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Upzoning + Displacement plan may take place as early as next Thursday, December 2, when the City Council’s Zoning Subcommittee meets again. The subcommittee must vote on the plan, followed by the Land Use […]

City Council Virtual Hearing on Disastrous SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Upzoning Plan TODAY — PLEASE TESTIFY AND/OR SUBMIT COMMENTS!

The City Council’s sole public hearing on the massive and disastrous proposed upzoning of SoHo, NoHo, and parts of Chinatown will be Tuesday, November 9, in the Zoning Subcommittee of the City Council. The virtual meeting begins at 10 am, but this is the fourth and final agenda item, so this item’s hearing is not […]

Facts and Data Continue To Contradict Upzoning Argument

or YIMBY Movement: A Flat Earth Society for the 21st Century  Earlier this month, I wrote an op-ed citing two recent analyses — one about new housing construction by neighborhood in New York City, the other about affordable housing prices by neighborhood — which showed that the YIMBY (‘Yes In My Backyard’) theory that simply […]

Opponents Overwhelm Six-Hour City Planning SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Hearing; City’s Baseless Claims of Racism Face Backlash; Elected Officials Join Opposition

Some important updates on the SoHo/NoHo rezoning fight: Opponents Swamp Supporters at Public Hearing: Around 100 people testified at yesterday’s City Planning Commission public hearing, even though it was held just prior to the Labor Day weekend and as the city was still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Ida, showing this administration’s contempt for […]

City Planning Commission SoHo/NoHo Upzoning Hearing This Thursday, September 2, 10 am

Virtual and In-Person Testimony Allowed Borough President Holds Five-Hour Public Hearing, Withholds Recommendation Opponents Including Incoming and Past Councilmembers Urge Rejection The City Planning Commission will hold its sole public hearing on the massive SoHo/NoHo Upzoning plan this Thursday beginning at 10 am. Virtual and in-person testimony at 120 Broadway’s basement concourse hearing room will […]

Huge Turnout for SoHo/NoHo Hearing, Housing/Tenant and Neighborhood Groups United in Opposition

We had a huge and united turnout on Wednesday at our press conference opposing the Mayor’s outrageous SoHo/NoHo rezoning plan and the Community Board 2 public hearing that followed. We were joined by local, city, and statewide affordable housing/tenant groups, SoHo, NoHo, Chinatown, and Lower East Side groups, and citywide and statewide historic preservation organizations to […]

Report Shows City’s SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Plan Unlikely To Produce Any Affordable Housing

Housing and Tenant Activists Slam Mayor’s Plan As Sham, Giveaway To Developers A new study released by Village Preservation today shows that Mayor de Blasio’s SoHo/NoHo Upzoning plan is likely to produce little if any of the promised affordable housing, as it’s structured to make it more profitable for developers to build entirely without affordable […]