Council Set to Vote on 125th Street Rezoning Plan

The New York City Council is expected to vote today on plans to transform Harlem’s “Main Street” at a moment of uncertainty for the future of the area and its residents.

The city’s vision for the 125th Street corridor—which extends from Broadway to Second Avenue and 124th to 126th Streets—has elicited emotions ranging from hope to fear to outrage over the past several months. Since the plan’s inception, and throughout its review process, tensions have simmered between city officials and dissenting activists over the implications of the area’s proposed changes.

Two weeks ago, the council’s Zoning and Franchises Committee voted in favor of the rezoning plan as it was modified by Councilwoman Inez Dickens (D-Harlem and Morningside Heights). Dickens altered the proposal to allow for greater housing affordability and more restrictive building height limitations, among other changes, after having denounced the version of the plan that the City Planning Commission initially sent to City Hall.

At a public hearing held by the CPC in late January, Dickens captured the divergent sentiments about the 125th Street rezoning when she said, “Each new millennium ushers in whirlwinds of challenge, change, emotion, and fear.” By now, though, the winds seemed to have settled for Dickens. “Now is the moment that I have done my best to secure protections, benefits, and opportunity for my community, my home,” she told the Zoning and Franchises Committee. “After many long hours of deliberations, disagreements, and debate, I do believe that the City Planning Commission heard me loud and clear.”

In her statement to the committee, Dickens said she secured the most significant affordable housing program the city has ever been able to guarantee its low-income residents. Out of the 11 committee members who voted, all but one—Zoning and Franchises Chairman Tony Avella (D-Queens)—voted in favor.

Avella said that, although he still disagrees with the plan’s fundamental vision for Harlem, it will “unfortunately” and “absolutely” pass during the full council vote this afternoon.

While Dickens is enthused about the changes she has secured for her home, Mylinda Lee, a lifelong Harlem resident and mother, is filled with doubt and fears of relocation. Though Lee is not one of the leaders of Harlem’s activist movement against the rezoning, she has appeared at numerous events over the past several months held for residents to speak out about the city’s new vision for their home.

Lee told the City Planning Commission that each day brings another battle of her fight to stay in Harlem. “It’s a crisis that’s going on unheard ears,” she explained. She worries that if plans for 125th Street pass today, her family will not be able to afford to live there anymore.

Many local entrepreneurs are apprehensive too, since the city’s Environmental Impact Statement estimated 71 Harlem businesses will be displaced because of the rezoning. But the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Rethinking Development Director Julia Vitullo-Martin, who has interviewed numerous business owners on 125th Street, recalled that, “They all said the same thing to me, ‘We need customers!’” According to Vitullo-Martin, the street has been on economic decline for years and the city’s proposal offers a much-needed boost. “Lots of businesses have closed up there because there aren’t enough customers. That’s the fundamental problem.”

She also noted that, although many local activists mourn the coming loss of neighborhood character, many of the area’s small, home-rooted shops have already been replaced by big chains such as Old Navy and Starbucks. “This is a street that just needs tremendous energy, investment, revitalization,” she explained. “Listening to these debates, you’d think people were talking about a fabulously healthy street—it isn’t.”

Still, there is always inherent tension between improving an area for the people who live there and enhancing a neighborhood in a way that will ultimately attract a higher socio-economic demographic. Lynette Velasco, chief of staff for Dickens, asserted that the councilwoman is keen on attacking that problem. “Harlem is a bastion,” she explained. “Harlem is a giant of African-American culture. And we have to preserve that.”

Desperate to keep City Council from voting on the rezoning, Harlem human rights advocacy group Voices of the Everyday People filed a lawsuit against the city Tuesday. VOTE People claims that elected officials and community board representatives violated due process and ignored the “voices of Harlem.” The organization’s position paper also expresses concerns about tenant displacement and environmental abuse. The paper states that, ”The spectrum of ideas to genuinely protect and enhance Harlem’s culture, businesses, and electorate are only limited by the willingness of the City and developers to honestly negotiate with the community. Our voice is not mutable, but it is a reasonable one.”

In a press release, VOTE People’s Executive Director Craig Schley added, “”It’s like being robbed, and no one says ‘stick ‘em up.’”

After the lawsuit was filed, the city scheduled an emergency hearing for 9 this morning, which could potentially stall the Council’s vote. VOTE People plans to pack the courtroom as the case is heard.

Lydia Wileden contributed to this article.

betsy.morais@columbiaspectator.com