Councilman Announces Priorities For Inwood Rezoning

INWOOD, NY — Inwood's City Council representative released a five-part list of priorities for the city's controversial plan to rezone the neighborhood a day before the council is set to begin reviewing the proposal.

City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez released his rezoning "vision" Monday, which prioritizes affordable housing, protecting small businesses, turning the neighborhood into a city leader for the tech and STEM industries, investing in arts and culture and protecting the neighborhood's green spaces. Rodriguez did not specify whether he supports or opposes the rezoning plan proposed by the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

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Some key policy proposals in Rodriguez' rezoning vision include:

• Creating affordable housing units on public and privately-owned land;
• Developing an anti-displacement strategy with city's Partners in Preservation Initiative;
• Creating a small business investment fund;
• Developing affordable commercial space offering minimum 10-year leases;
• Restricting size of retail spaces in Inwood;
• Improving STEM education at George Washington Educational Campus and expanding STEM programs at all District 6 public schools;
• Investing in community based organizations in Inwood involved in the arts, sports and culture;
• Renovating Inwood's green spaces such as parks, sports fields, a pier and community dock on Dyckman Street and playgrounds.

The City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will hold a hearing on the city's rezoning proposal Tuesday at 1 p.m. The City Council is expected to vote on the proposal in early August. The Inwood rezoning proposal is the latest in a number of neighborhood rezonings pursued by Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration.

The rezoning plan proposed by the city Economic Development Corporation has seen mixed results through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. Community Board 12 passed a resolution agreeing with some aspects of the plan, but advocating for sweeping changes, Borough President Gale Brewer opposed the plan and offered a set of conditions for her approval and the City Planning Commission approved the plan as proposed.

The City Council has the final say on whether to approve or reject the plan and has the power to make modifications to the plan. The council may take action similar to when it approved a plan to rezone East Harlem by modifying a city-proposed plan to align more closely with community recommendations.

A number of community groups that have repeatedly criticized the city's plan will hold a protest at City Hall Tuesday before the council subcommittee hearing. The groups, which formed a coalition called Uptown United, submitted an alternative plan for "a rezoning about us, with us, for us" which calls for any housing built on upzoned land to be 100 percent affordable at neighborhood-appropriate levels. The protest is set to begin at 12 p.m. on the steps of City Hall.

Read more about the city's plan here.

Photo by NYC Economic Development Corportation