After rezoning, plans for 125th Street stall

This fall, West and Central Harlem became breeding grounds for large commercial and housing developments that are now nearing completion. As the neighborhood landscape transforms, local politicians and the New York City government are working to regulate new development through the complex zoning process.

In May 2008, the New York City Council passed rezoning plans intended to transform 125th Street into a bustling business hub with taller buildings and more affordable housing. Now Community Board 9 and the New York City Planning Department are in the early stages of preparing a proposal for a massive rezoning of West Harlem, which CB9 chair Pat Jones has said could be one of the largest rezoning processes in the city’s history.

Not much to show

A year and a half after 125th Street got its rezoning makeover, some local politicians lament that there is nothing to show for it.

Though the rezoning established new laws to spur economic development, Central Harlem’s Community Board 10 Chair William Franc Perry said that the timing was unfortunate.

“Nothing has really changed. There has been no significant movement on it [development] since the economy turned sour,” Perry said, adding, “The zoning laws were put in place … but developers have no money to break ground.”

Walter South, chair of the CB9 Landmarks Committee, agreed that there has not been significant movement since the rezoning, but added that it was never enough from the beginning. “125th Street should really be closed,” he said of his hopes to see the busy street shut to vehicular traffic and open to bike lanes.

South added that there was too much resistance to housing development in lieu of commercial buildings: “The more multi-use, the more interesting, and I think I would’ve liked to see more housing on 125th,” he said. “They can build as tall as they want.”

Susan Russell, chief of operations for City Councilmember Robert Jackson, who represents parts of Harlem, acknowledged that the rezoning was faltering where it had made sense in theory. “The argument was to create the opportunity for growth. Philosophically, there are some successes, but the problem is with the economy tanking.”

A new opportunity

For those working to get the larger West Harlem rezoning on its feet, it is an opportunity to reshape the broader neighborhood beyond 125th Street.

“The West Harlem rezoning study aims to create contextual zoning districts that establish building heights and ensure that new development will match existing neighborhood character, an expressed priority of the community,” City Planning spokesperson Jovana Rizzo wrote in an e-mail.

Further, Rizzo said, City Planning is exploring ways to encourage more mixed-use development­—buildings that could serve dual purposes—and increased economic activity. “The rezoning study is also looking to strengthen the West 145th Street corridor by allowing for development opportunities where appropriate and to expand opportunities for mixed-use in the manufacturing district, which is between West 126th and West 130th streets, bound by Amsterdam and Convent avenues,” she wrote.

The pending proposal will take many key aspects from CB9’s 197-a zoning plan, conceived in 2003 as an alternative to Columbia’s 197-c plan for its campus expansion. Though Columbia’s version passed, CB9 may soon be able to pull some key aspects from its original plan.

CB9 hopes to implement inclusionary housing, which would allow for higher-density development in exchange for more affordable housing units, and contextual development, which protects against uncharacteristic neighborhood development projects.

Lynette Velasco, special assistant to Councilmember Inez Dickens, said Dickens has been satisfied with the current plan’s progress and structure.

“There is a timetable, and so far the agreed-upon timetable has been kept and the points of agreement have been adhered to,” Velasco said.

Jane Arrendell, co-chair of CB9’s Land Use and Economic Development Committee, noted she was also committed to encouraging growth in the local economy as CB9 moves forward with the plan.

“We’ve been focused on bringing in more businesses and keeping those businesses [currently in the area],” she said.

Development and preservation

As politicians move forward, a recurring source of tension is how to encourage economic development through rezoning while still upholding the historic nature of the neighborhood.

“We want to make sure we maintain the character of the neighborhood, particularly in terms of architectural design,” CB9 Land Use and Zoning Committee co-chair Yvonne Stennett said, adding that there would not be a blanket look at the area, but more targeted and specific planning for certain sites.

But South noted, “The biggest problem is they [the parties involved in rezoning] don’t make any survey of historically significant buildings,” adding that zoning discussions have been missed opportunities to address issues of preservation.

Part of preserving through zoning is ensuring that affordable housing remains an integral part of the plan, and many proponents of the rezone have said this is a key issue.

“We don’t know what the future holds, and the Council member [Dickens] is gravely concerned about the state of the economy, the looming fiscal crisis, and how it may affect the state of the city,” Velasco said. “This is why we’re focused on the continued rollout of the affordable housing component and jobs-creating component.”

Stennett said that using zoning as a tool to mandate affordable housing—often by collaborating with the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development—is important to her. She added of historic structures, “We want to protect them so development can’t come along and demolish them and totally change the character of the neighborhood.”

On the street

Stennett said it was important to get frequent local feedback beyond politicians. “A survey was sent out to the whole neighborhood and got over 200 responses,” she said. “We’re making sure it’s as open a process as possible.”

James McFadden, a resident of Harlem for over 10 years, said he was concerned that the shift in demographics that could come with these changes would be harmful to residents who have called Harlem home for decades.

“The stores are catering to white people,” McFadden said. “Then you have the housing situation. Again, that’s catering to white people. They’re using our tax dollars to get these buildings put up.”

Mariela Garcia expressed mixed sentiments on the changes she has observed at 125th Street.

“There are many businesses entering—too many, in fact. There’s also too many people and too many police,” she said of the general influx of activity in the neighborhood. But, she added, “There is less crime, though. … and more jobs because all these stores need people [to work in them].”

And Vincent Mallard, who works on 125th Street, said he welcomes the city’s increased attention on Harlem.

“Harlem’s got a new makeover, cleaning windows and sidewalks, brushing up the place a bit,” Mallard said. “They’re doing a good job. They even got liners for the trash cans now.”