Decision To Stop Rezoning In Inwood Overturned By NY Court

INWOOD, NY — A nullification of the controversial plan to rezone the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan was overturned Thursday by an appeals court.

The First Department Appellate Court of New York ruling came after a lower court sided with opponents of Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration rezoning plan in December, finding that the city failed to "take a hard look" at the potential impacts of the plan.

The demand for a racial impact analysis of the rezoning, along with other studies, was at the center of the advocacy's group first legal challenge.

The Appellate Court, which heard the city's appeal argument last month, acknowledged the group's desire for an exploration of the potential impacts on "racial and ethnic groups," but it ruled that it was not a necessary step for New York City to take in this matter.

"Although we understand petitioners' desire to require the City to explore the potential impacts on racial and ethnic groups, the City 'was not required to perform analysis aimed at forecasting the mix of ethnicities expected to occupy units in the development, and the corresponding impact on prevailing area patterns of racial and ethnic concentration," the court wrote in its decision.

The rezoning plan proposes upzoning large areas of Inwood east of 10th Avenue to facilitate large-scale residential developments while rezoning areas west of 10th Avenue in an attempt to preserve the existing neighborhood's characters.

Supporters of the rezoning contend that it will create thousands of new units of affordable housing in the area.

The plan also calls for the construction of a new mixed-use building with a new library facility to replace the existing Inwood branch of the New York Public Library, add a new waterfront park, and a new performing arts center.

However, advocates are quick to point out that similar promises have been made it past city rezonings, despite studies showing that those plans displace people of color at a disproportional rate.

"We are deeply disappointed by the court's ruling that the City still refuses to study the racial impact of its proposed rezoning which would be a significant step toward addressing the racial inequality that is baked into the City's housing policies," Inwood Legal Action said in a statement. "If Mayor de Blasio truly believes that #BlackLivesMatter, he should support our calls for a racial impact study, and provide equal housing opportunities to Asian, Black and Latino New Yorkers."

The Inwood Legal Action plans to meet soon to decide if it will appeal this decision to the New York Court of Appeals.