More than 100 people attended Community Board 10’s October general meeting at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building to express their concerns about the city’s proposed changes to 125th Street.
In an effort to shape future development in Harlem, the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) has developed a 125th Street Rezoning Plan, which was certified on October 1. Generally Speaking, a rezoning involves changing regulations regarding the size, shape and height of buildings and what types of uses are allowed. The decisions made concerning this particular rezoning will determine the look and function of developments for years to come on Harlem’s “Main Street.”
The area covered by the plan stretches from Broadway to Second Avenue with 126th Street and 124th Street serving as the northern and southern boundaries, respectively. Though the rezoning does extend across West, Central and East Harlem, it stops just short of Columbia’s planned development on the West Side and the site formerly known as Uptown New York on the East Side. Regulations in those areas will not be modified under the 125th Street Rezoning Plan.
Changes for Harlem
The plan seeks to establish a “special district” in Harlem that will include a fairly complicated set of new regulations regarding building heights, how much floor area each development can have and incentives for affordable housing development. Amazingly, 125th Street’s current zoning does not have height limits. DCP’s plan will set a height limit as high as 290 feet (roughly 29 stories) in parts of Central Harlem. The plan also calls for the creation of an “arts and entertainment core sub-district” in Central Harlem that will require large developments to devote a portion of floor area to arts- and entertainment-related use. Under the plan, developers would be encouraged to provide affordable housing because the city will offer additional square footage in exchange for residential units that are priced below market rate. Banks, hotels and offices would have restricted ground-floor use in order to encourage more lively retail- and arts-related uses on the ground floor.
DCP’s director, Amanda Burden, is quoted on DCP’s website as saying, “Our rezoning plan for 125th Street will spur new investment as well as a range of cultural and retail opportunities. This comprehensive initiative will fulfill the promise of Harlem’s Main Street as a vibrant corridor and a premier arts, entertainment and commercial destination in the city.”
The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has developed a series of initiatives to complement DCP’s plan. EDC’s initiatives, which do not require public review, include matching up local entrepreneurs with the New York City Department of Small Business Services.
The public review process
DCP’s rezoning plan will go through a public review process called the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). This process officially began on October 1, when the City Planning Commission certified the plan. The certification is not an approval; it merely kicks off the public review process. The affected community boards – 9, 10 and 11; the Manhattan Borough Board; the City Planning Commission; and the City Council will all have the opportunity to comment on the 125th Street Rezoning Plan over the coming months. Most of these entities will also hold public hearings and accept comments from the community, so be sure to utilize the contact information at the end of this article to keep abreast of public hearing dates. Community Board 10’s land use committee will be hosting a public meeting on October 18 at 6:30 at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building on the eighth floor.
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed rezoning is available on DCP’s website. This document details exactly what the plan is and how it is expected to impact traffic, schools, light, air, existing businesses, pedestrian access and a host of other important factors. DCP will soon announce the date for the DEIS public hearing.
Councilwoman Inez Dickens represents the majority of the area covered under the rezoning plan. She strongly encourages everyone to participate in the ULURP process. “The clock is ticking, and all concerned must work together to achieve a common vision for what Harlem will be, while protecting Harlem’s past and present,” she said.
The official public review process is just beginning, but DCP has been presenting the plan to groups large and small for over three years. Though most people agree that 125th Street is in need of positive attention from the city, some have expressed concern over certain aspects of the rezoning plan.
Community concerns
According to Jabari Osaze, second vice chair of Community Board 10 and co-chair of the land use committee, “Community Board 10 agrees with about 80 percent of DCP’s plan, but we have grave concerns about that remaining 20 percent.”
In a five-page document entitled “Our Main Street,” Community Board 10 responded to the plan earlier this year by asserting, “Projects with maximum heights of 290 feet are out of context for 125th Street and the rest of Harlem.” Among other things, Community Board 10 also took issue with what it perceived as a lack of opportunities in the plan that would be affordable to Harlem’s current residents and business owners.
Harlem residents echoed many of those same concerns at Community Board 10’s general meeting and some even offered solutions. Michael Henry Adams, noted historian and author of several books about Harlem, cited landmark status as a way to avoid Harlem’s destruction. Others at the meeting agreed and charged Community Bard 10 with creating a landmark committee.
Emotions ran high at the meeting, which lasted until the State Office building closed at 10 p.m. Many area residents gave impassioned statements questioning the motives of governmental and corporate plans to change their beloved Harlem.
Ultimately, DCP’s plan can be approved, approved with modifications or disapproved. The public review process is the community’s opportunity to ensure that changes made to this internationally renowned Harlem thoroughfare are good for the community. In the beginning of October, the American Planning Association named 125th Street as one of the greatest thoroughfares in the country, noting the successful balance of large chain stores and locally owned businesses. Surely, this prestigious honor weighs upon the minds of the city’s decision-makers as they move forward with a plan that will undoubtedly alter 125th Street for generations to come.
Councilwoman Dickens had this to say about what Harlem should expect from this rezoning plan: “In return for our participation and good faith, we should expect to work with the City of New York to ensure that housing remains affordable on and around 125th Street, commercial rents do not force out businesses that have weathered the bad times and deserve a shot at the good times, and that the 125th Rezoning Plan recognizes, capitalizes and promotes the culture and ideals of the Black capital of the world.”
Here are resources for more information about the plan and calendars of upcoming hearings:
The New York City Department of City Planning
Edward Marshall, project manager
(212)720-3560
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/125th/index.shtml
