East Harlem Rezoning Could Add Thousands of Apartments, Displace Hundreds: City

EAST HARLEM, NY — The Department of City Planning released its East Harlem rezoning plan in October, but had been mum on its expectations for the neighborhood plan until recently. A draft scope of work recently released by the city indicated the plan could create thousands of new apartments in East Harlem, but at the same time risk displacing hundreds of existing residents from the neighborhood.

The city report estimated the effects of the rezoning plan based off two distinct scenarios. One scenario projects that 69 development sites will be created from East 104th to East 132nd streets, and the alternate scenario adds in a potential 76,500-square-foot city development on East 111th and East 112th streets.

The first scenario estimates that 3,494 apartment units will be added to East Harlem as a product of the rezoning plan. The plan would also add more than 150,000 square feet of commercial space and more than 130,000 square feet of industrial space, according to the draft scope of work.

The alternate scenario offers even higher projections due to the inclusion of the massive city project — called the East 111th development. In this scenario the city projects an added 4,162 apartments and more than 180,000 square feet of commercial space, according to the city documents. The East 11th development currently does not account for any added industrial space.

Community groups have protested the East 11th development, claiming that an influx of luxury apartments will increase rents in the area and displace current residents and small businesses.

The city documents don't have an exact estimate on how many residents may be displaced by the rezoning plan. But planners believe "more than 500 residents" may fall victim to direct displacement, according to the draft scope of work.

But the type of displacement East Harlem residents have been worried about falls under the category of "indirect displacement," which is caused by changing socioeconomic trends in the neighborhood.

"Indirect residential displacement could occur if a proposed project either introduces a trend or accelerates a trend of changing socioeconomic conditions that may potentially displace a vulnerable population," reads the draft scope of work.

The city documents do not include any projected numbers for indirect displacement, but said that the city will analyze a number of factors in order to minimize indirect displacement.

East Harlem residents will be able to learn more about the rezoning plan at a De. 15 scoping meeting held in the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, 2180 3rd Ave., according to the Department of City Planning.

Photo: NYC Department of City Planning