125th Street Corridor Rezoning

125th Street Corridor Rezoning

 

Manhattan Community has passed a resolution to approve the rezoning plan with substantial conditions. Below is a summary of our position. The resolution will be posted on the website shortly. More information on the rezoning can be found by visiting the New York City's Department of City Planning website.

 

 

1. Need for more affordable housing opportunities.

 

          a) Accomplished by expanding the Inclusionary Housing program, aligning it with 

              Community Board 11’s Housing Guidelines and requiring that it is built on-site.

 

          b) Also, by changing some of the proposed zoning designations, more affordable housing is 

               created through the inclusionary housing program.

 

 

2. No as-of-right upzoning

 

           a) This is accomplished by keeping the base FAR’s at their current levels (generally 4.0) and

                encouraging development through bonuses (i.e. Inclusionary Housing, Local Hiring and

                Arts Bonus).

 

3. More of a focus on Arts and Local Entrepreneurs.

 

            a) By revising the Arts Bonus and replacing the Arts & Entertainment requirement with a

                Local Small Business requirement, we believe that we have substantially addressed this

                concern.

 

 

4. Promote more Local Hiring.

 

            a) We are recommending a Local Hiring FAR bonus. This is a creative way to generate gains

                 for the local economy and will incentivize job commitments that will reduce

                 unemployment.

 

 

5. Requirement for Environmentally-Friendly Buildings.

 

             a) By proposing that all developments meet the LEED Silver standards we ensure that the

                  expected changes will be conscious of future generations.

 

6. Areas in which CB 11 supported the City Planning Department’s Proposal

 

              a) Limiting the size of ground floor space for certain businesses (i.e. banks)

             

              b) Maintaining the character around Marcus Garvey Park

 

              c) Maintaining the character of the existing residential areas on 124^th & 126th

 

 

In summary, the main goals that we believe this proposal will achieve are increased opportunities for affordable housing (which are targeted to our community), the creation of affordable space for non-profits which focus on the arts and culture, a space for local entrepreneurship to flourish, local hiring, development that is environmentally friendly and a zoning plan that is contextual. 

 

 

 

For more detailed information on the resolution please feel free to contact the board office at (212) 831-8929/30.