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Tag: Affordability and Preservation

Jimmy Carter, Habitat for Humanity, and the East Village 

With the passing of former President Jimmy Carter on December 29, 2024, we look back on the important role he played for more affordable housing in the 1980s East Village with his first major project for Habitat for Humanity, in this post first published in December 2023. Former president Jimmy Carter and his late wife […]

Jimmy Carter, Habitat for Humanity, and the East Village 

Former president Jimmy Carter and his late wife Rosalynn Carter were long at the forefront of Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit that helps communities build new homes and improve existing residences. While the Carters’ work with the organization over nearly four decades brought them to neighborhoods in need across the country and around the world, […]

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’s SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Plan Includes Part of Chinatown, and Hundreds of Rent Regulated Units Could Be Lost

The newly-released study by Village Preservation shows that the City’s SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Plan, which includes part of Chinatown, will make the area richer, whiter, and more expensive to live in than now, increase demolition pressures on existing rent regulated units, and potentially destroy more affordable housing than it creates. Town Hall and Teach In Tonight Village […]

There’s Been A Lot of Talk About Affordable Housing in SoHo and NoHo. Here’s What They Really Mean

An abridged version of this piece appeared as an op-ed in the January 23, 2020 edition of AM-Metro NY. A recent report issued on behalf of the NYC Department of City Planning, the Manhattan Borough President, and City Councilmember Margaret Chin called for seeking opportunities to create affordable housing in SoHo and NoHo, and to […]

Why Affordable Housing Advocates Should Oppose the City’s Rezoning Plans

The City’s rezoning proposals ‘Zoning for Quality and Affordability’ (ZQA) and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) are making their way through the public review process. If approved, each would profoundly impact our neighborhoods and our city, increasing the size and amount of allowable development.  And while both have received overwhelming disapproval from community boards and Borough […]