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VOTE Files Lawsuit Challenging 125th Street Rezoning
PUBLISHED APRIL 28, 2008
Voices Of The Everyday People, a community-based advocacy organization, plans to file a lawsuit Monday challenging the Department of City Planning’s 125th Street rezoning proposal, the organization announced at a meeting Saturday afternoon.
Among other provisions, the rezoning plan would reduce height restrictions for buildings along 125th Street from 2nd Avenue to Broadway and allow for bigger and taller residential buildings, which has some residents concerned that developers will build large, unaffordable housing complexes. The proposal was approved last week by both the City Council’s Zoning and Franchises subcommittee and Land Use committee, with modifications from Councilwoman Inez Dickens (D-Central Harlem and Morningside Heights) that included an increase in affordable housing measures. After the modifications are approved by City Planning, the plan is subject to a full council vote, scheduled for Wednesday.
The lawsuit seeks either to stop Wednesday’s council vote by means of an injunction or, if the vote goes forward, to “stay the effect of the vote,” attorney Michael Hiller said. According to Hiller and leaders of VOTE People, the city violated its constitutional obligations of due process by not providing written notification to property owners who would be most adversely affected by the rezoning.
“When they pass something as dramatic as this without notice and an opportunity to be heard, that’s a constitutional violation, and that’s not right,” Hiller said at a Saturday VOTE People meeting of 30 people. “Together I think we can do it.”
“I’m not completely sold on the due process thing,” said Julius Tajiddin, a member of Central Harlem’s Community Board 10, after the VOTE People meeting. “It’s been in newspapers and on TV—if people don’t hear about it, they don’t want to.”
Hiller pointed to the 1950 case Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., in which the U.S. Supreme Court decided that notice of legal proceedings must be “reasonably calculated” for those most adversely affected by government action, and that notification through news media alone was inadequate.
Tajiddin said he felt more strongly about VOTE People’s alternative argument, which will not be included in Monday’s lawsuit due to filing deadlines. According to the leaders of the group, an obscure law that has existed for 110 years states that the council must approve the rezoning plan by three-quarters, rather than a simple majority, if 20 percent of adjacent property owners sign a written protest against the plan.
“The city’s got to guarantee that people’s civil rights have been provided,” Hiller said.
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Mr. Schley presents an illusion. He does not care about rezoning or Harlem. He wants to run for Congressman Charlie Rangel's seat. Name recognition is all he cares about right now and his advocacy for 125th Street is being orchestrated by outside political puppet masters.
The community knows that Mr. Schley uses other people's work to present an illusion about himself and his group because he does not really know about Harlem.
He tries to persuade groups; particularly anti-rezoning Harlem based groups, to give him their e-mail lists and to "work for" him for free while he is being "paid" by the puppet masters. He is promoted by some with media connections who are also being "paid" by these same puppet masters.
The rezoning of 125th Street is not good for Harlem based on the City Planning proposal and/or Dicken's re-worked plan (See: http://www.ipetitions.com/peti...). However, Craig Schley is not good for Harlem either. He is an opportunist who found an opportunity (the proposed rezoning of 125th Street) to get his name and face (Mr. Wilhelmina Model) out there.
Craig Schley should get an eviction notice from the people of Harlem for his self-serving plots and schemes. What you are seeing when you look at Craig Schley/vote people is not what you are getting.
Both Charlie Rangel and Craig Schley need to “get to steppin” out of Harlem. While you guys are at it take Inez Dickens with ya!!!!!
Watch out for the Jive
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