City Unveils Updated Inwood Rezoning Plan

INWOOD, NY — Almost one full year after being booed out of a meeting, the city Economic Development Corporation returned to Community Board 12 Thursday night to present an updated proposal to rezone Inwood both east and west of 10th Avenue.

Due to fears that three special district upzonings east of 10th Avenue would accelerate gentrification in the heavily rent-regulated areas west of 10th Avenue the city EDC decided to take some time to draw up a contextual rezoning plan for the entire neighborhood.

The plans for east of 10th Avenue have not changed, but the EDC has proposed splitting areas west of 10th Avenue and north of Dyckman Street into two separate zoning districts — the housing-rich "Upland Core" which occupies about 80 percent of the area and the "Commercial U" which runs along Dyckman Street, Broadway and West 207th Street.

All areas which fall under the "Upland Core" will be rezoned from R7-2 districts to R7A, a decision which could please some of the more vocal critics of the rezoning plan. The R7A district — an overwhelming favorite among activists during a July zoning workshop — will cap building heights at 8 stories with a buildable floor area ratio of 4.0 for residential buildings and 6.5 for community facilities, according to the EDC. The zoning would also overlay commercial use for ground-floor retail where it currently exists.

The "Commercial U" zoning gets more complicated. The EDC proposed rezoning the busy stretches of Dyckman Street, Broadway and West 207th Street to allow for more commercial rezoning and higher density residential buildings than the rest of Inwood west of 10th Avenue. The proposed mix of R7D, R8A and corresponding commercial zones would mean that developers would be able to build 11 and 14 story buildings along the commercial corridors, according to the EDC presentation.

While EDC representative Adam Meagher was able to deliver his entire presentation without getting shouted down or booed out of the room — many anti-rezoning activists were not entirely sold on the contextual rezoning proposal.

Activists raised concerns over whether Inwood's aging infrastructure could support the developments that zoning would bring, the neighborhood's already over-taxed public transit and school systems and the upzoning and development of areas near the Harlem River waterfront that may be liable to flooding.

Graham Ciraulo from the Northern Manhattan is Not For Sale coalition warned agains upzoning the neighborhood's business districts, saying that the city is "playing with fire." Existing neighborhood business could be forced to move should property owners chose to develop taller buildings after rezoning, Ciraulo said.

Another activist, Anna Morales, called the rezoning proposal "disrespectful."

"We keep on giving input and input and you just keep adding new things to the map and not making changes that we already said we want," Morales said. "Another thing that's very disrespectful is the lack of outreach that you have done to the Spanish speaking community."

"We keep saying the same things and nobody listens."

One opponent of the rezoning, neighborhood resident Josh Karan called the plan "shameful" because it did not explore constructing any public housing in the neighborhood in areas that are being newly zoned for residential uses.

EDC representative Meagher said that the rezoning process will go through scoping and public review processes that will allow the city to modify the proposal as it gains more input from the community in order to create a "better plan in the end."

"We appreciate the opportunity to discuss this initiative and listen to the community's feedback," EDC spokeswoman Stephanie Baez told Patch in a statement. "We look forward to continuing this conversation with Community Board 12, elected officials, residents and stakeholders in order to inform a plan that will preserve the neighborhood's character while creating affordable housing, jobs, and waterfront access for Inwood residents."

Photos courtesy NYC Economic Development Corporation