Inwood Rezoning Plan To Enter Public Review Process

INWOOD, NY — The city's proposal to rezone a large swath on Inwood in order to spur development will enter the public review process later this month, the city Economic Development Corporation announced.

On January 16 the Inwood NYC plan — which seeks to implement contextual rezoning to preserve areas west of 10th Avenue while upzoning underused areas east of 10th avenue — will be certified for the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. After certification, the plan will seek approvals from the area community board, the borough president's office, the City Planning Commission and the City Council.

The city Economic Development Corporation has been pitching a neighborhood-wide rezoning to Inwood for about two years. After being booed out of a community board meeting in 2016, the corporation came back with an updated proposal in the summer of 2017 that featured contextual rezoning for areas west of 10th avenue and north of Dyckman street that aim to preserve the neighborhood's existing character.

The city estimates that the rezoning proposal will create "the potential" for 1,300 new affordable apartments int he neighborhood and publicly accessible waterfront spaces along the Harlem River.

Despite community support for extending the rezoning area south of Dyckman Street, the EDC has not changed the study area because it would have forced the city to postpone the project.

"Over a two-year process, the New York City Economic Development Corporation has diligently engaged the community and various stakeholders to ensure Inwood's unique characteristics are preserved for decades to come," City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement. "We have worked together to develop a thoughtful, multi-pronged plan to make Inwood affordable to longtime residents, enhance natural resources, and ensure its population is well trained and small businesses remain competitive."

The city Economic Development Corporation also announced the latest details on its Inwood action plan, of which the rezoning proposal is a component. The city plans to invest about $42 million into the neighborhood through the action plan including initiatives to improve Highbridge Park and a controversial plan to redevelop Inwood's New York Public Library branch.

Read more about the rezoning proposal here.

Photo by NYC Economic Development Corportation