Revised 125th Street Plan Receives Council Zoning Committee Approval

The New York City Council’s Zoning and Franchise Committee approved a substantially altered vision for the future of Harlem’s “Main Street” Tuesday in a move expected to propel the major rezoning plan to an eventual Council victory.

Championed by Councilwoman Inez Dickens (D-Morningside Heights and Central Harlem)—whom colleagues referred to as a hard worker, fierce negotiator, and “tough cookie”—the modified plan for 125th Street rezoning was approved in a 10-1 vote. The revised version of the plan addressed many of the concerns voiced by community boards, politicians, and residents alike, such as inadequate affordable housing, unchecked commercial growth, and overly generous height restrictions.

Dickens, who was at the center of the vote, initially rejected the City Planning Commission-approved version of the plan.

“This has been one of the most challenging and difficult issues that I have ever faced, personally and professionally, because the rezoning of 125th Street will change the fabric of my district, my community, and my home forever,” Dickens said at the committee meeting before urging members to support the modified plan.

According to the Department of City Planning, the 125th Street rezoning aims to breathe new life into the area by bringing in new retail, taller buildings, and more commercial appeal to draw tourists and locals. While some city officials have touted the transformation as highly-necessary to sustain a thriving corridor, many local residents attacked the plan as a straight shot to gentrification in a neighborhood where prices are already beginning to outpace locals’ salaries.

The committee-approved version of the plan, which was spearheaded by Dickens, requires 46 percent of all housing units to be income-targeted affordable housing units— a percentage that surpasses any prior requirement in the city’s history. Over half of these units must be two bedrooms or larger. Other revisions include height restrictions capping buildings at 195 feet, a $750,000 forgivable loan program for potentially impacted businesses, creation of a local arts advisory board, and approximately $6 million for capital improvements in Marcus Garvey Park.

“Here is a tremendous opportunity for a second Harlem Renaissance,” Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx) said. “And I can see Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, and others saying, ‘Finally we will be institutionalized and we will never ever leave dear Harlem.’”

Other councilmembers followed Seabrook’s lead. Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Queens) called the plan “one of the brightest lights that came into Harlem.” Councilwoman and Land Use Committee Chair Melinda Katz (D-Queens) referred to it as “one of the most progressive affordable housing plans that we’ve had.”

After the vote, City Planning Commission Chair Amanda Burden commended Dickens, calling her “a tremendous leader, a fierce advocate, and a fearsome negotiator” and terming the percentage of income-targeted units “record-breaking.”

Surrounded at a press conference by Harlem locals ranging from ministers to restaurant owners, Dickens thanked her constituents for their input and suggestions. “I am a child of Harlem and this rezoning at first was frightening to me because I didn’t know what that meant,” she said. “It was frightening to me because I didn’t see how we were going to be protected.”

After examining the zoning laws, Dickens said she decided to safeguard the 125th Street neighborhood “not in the direction CPC wanted, but in the direction my community wanted.” She added that U.S. Congressman Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) and Governor David Paterson—a Harlem resident and former state senator for Harlem—both expressed support for the revised plan.

The Land Use Committee will vote on the plan today. Because of the dramatic changes, it will return to the City Planning Commission for confirmation before the City Council vote.

Burden said that the Land Use Committee and City Council recommendations “traditionally follow the zoning and franchises committee” and said that she does not anticipate any hurdles.

melissa.repko@columbiaspectator.com