Major private (often luxury) developments have skyrocketed over the last 10 years in NYC, transforming the skyline and the feeling and affordability of neighborhoods across the city. In East Harlem, the proposed East River Plaza Development is causing quite a stir: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uptown/neighbors-squabble-plan-build-east-harlem-towers-article-1.2047762; http://www.elbarriounite.org/nerves-letter-to-melissa-mark-vivierito-east-harlem-councilwoman-and-council-speaker/
NYCCLI wants to join forces with NERVE/El Barrio Unite, a group that is organizing against the East River Plaza to address threats like this one with its people’s plan for East Harlem. Can you help?
- Andrew McAllister, Michael Tirado, Ashwini Chawla, Gisella Dionio, Abhishek Samdaria, Jasmine Boone, Amanda Sarantos
I met with Roger Hernandez from NERVE/El Barrio Unite, who will be this group’s community contact. He continues to be concerned about, and organize opposition to, the East River Plaza Development. But as Mayor DeBlasio’s housing plan unfolds, with East Harlem as one of the areas it has targeted for major rezoning and development, Roger and other community advocates are broadening their focus to the scale of the community district. He sees Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer, as an ally, especially since her recent state of the borough address, and this letter, which she sent to the Mayor and Vicki Been re. the disposition of city owned properties for private development. In it she specifically calls out the lack of transparency and community involvement in the city’s process and calls FOR disposition of city property to the East Harlem/El Barrio Community Land Trust (which is being organized by NYCCLI).
There are several upcoming events/exhibits that are relevant for this group.
1. A screening of the film, My Brooklyn, at the CUNY Grad Center tomorrow at 7pm: http://pcp.gc.cuny.edu/events/film-screening-my-brooklyn-february-17-7pm/. This film is about the private development-led gentrification of Downtown Brooklyn, but resonates for neighborhoods across the city, and is often screened in the context of organizing efforts.
2. Tuesday, Feb. 17th: Community Board 11 board meeting in East Harlem at 6:30pm: http://www.cb11m.org/node/1908 where there will be a presentation from “Civitas” on the rezoning: http://civitasnyc.org/live/east-harlem-rezoning/.
3. A MOMA exhibit called “Uneven Growth”: http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1438, which runs until May 10th. The exhibit examines the urban development challenges entailed in megacity population growth, and includes a case study of NYC, which proposes something very similar to what NYCCLI is organizing in East Harlem. See part of their proposal here: http://www.cohstra.org/?portfolio=uneven-growth.
This branch of nyc .gov explains some of the goals and policies of a rezoning proposal for East Harlem from the early 2000s. It also discusses existing zoning(at the time) and public review of the action.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/eastharlem/eastharlem1.shtml
Ok team, your community contact will be Roger Hernandez, of NERVE/El Barrio Unite: elbarriounite.org. You can contact Roger by email at rjhnyc@yahoo.com. Please read up on the NERVE/El Barrio Unite and their work before meeting with Roger. When you are ready to set up a meeting, be in touch with Roger directly, and copy me on the email. Have fun! And email me directly with any questions.
Hillary
Hi team. Roger has invited you to a community meeting! Here’s the info:
Dear Member of the Community,
El Barrio Unite invites you to join us for a community meeting to
discuss the East River Plaza Residential Plan and Expansion. In
particular, we will be discussing the recent application by Planet
Fitness to obtain a special permit to operate their fitness center
months after the gym has been up and running. We hope that you will be
able to join us! Should you have any questions or concerns please call
N.E.R.V.E. Inc. at (212)427-0555 or email info@elbarriounite.org.
Date: Monday March 9th, 2015
Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Casa Boricua del Barrio, 2249 2nd Ave New York, NY
Sincerely,
Anne Kadamani
Organizer
El Barrio Unite
(212)427-0555
info@elbarriounite.org
So, the update is posted here. http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/caldwell15/category/the-future-of-major-private-development/
Hey guys- here’s a good one for you from Gothamist: http://gothamist.com/2015/03/18/how_can_we_stop_luxury_developers_f.php
Hey guys- Check out this briefing on the Economics of Mandatory Inclusionary Zoining: http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=58aa0d873ce91d589c3056b04&id=9db77809ff&e=b914432c10, based on a new report from the Furman Center: http://furmancenter.org/thestoop/entry/report-examines-economic-potential-of-upzoning-to-produce-affordable-housin
In light of the gas explosion/building collapse in the East Village: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-shank/nyc-housing-a-clear-and-present-danger_b_6962090.html…(a similar explosion/collapse happened in East Harlem about a year ago)
A neighborhood preservationist’s take on DeBlasio’s Rezoning Plan: http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/opinions/5633-citywide-rezoning-plan-would-benefit-developers-hurt-neighborhoods-de-blasio-berman
Hey hey- some eminent domain news in East Harlem: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/03/31/east-harlem-business-owners-await-eminent-domain-decision/
Hey, this was the correspondence between el barrio unite (and CB 11) and the development group regarding rezoning recommendations.
http://www.eastharlempreservation.org/docs/East_River_Plaza_Residential_Development_Expansion_Proposal_Objection.pdf
An update on the Rezoning in East Harlem: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/04/27/council-speaker-to-oversee-east-harlem-rezoning/
Hey guys,
This seems like a lot of the information we’re trying to condense into our products. It’s a report on affordable housing and inclusionary zoning released in 2013.
http://www.anhd.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Real-Affordability-Evaluation-of-the-Bloomberg-Housing-Program2.pdf
http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il/il15/area_definitions.pdf
http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il/il15/IncomeLimits_30_Rev.pdf
http://www.newdestinyhousing.org/get-help/area-median-income-ami-chart