| Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

Affordable Housing is Welcome in SoHo/NoHo; Bigger Retail & Upzoning are NOT

Recipients

Your Municipal Officials
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer
Councilmember Margaret Chin
Speaker Corey Johnson
Department of City Planning Chair Marisa Lago
Councilmember Carlina Rivera
Mayor Bill de Blasio

Message

I oppose allowing larger retail and upzoning in SoHo or NoHo, the latter being unnecessary to provide affordable housing

Dear [Decision Maker],

I strongly oppose any changes to the zoning for SoHo and NoHo which would "upzone" the area or increase the allowable size or scale of development beyond the generous allowances which already exist. The current push by (among others) big real estate interests to upzone the area are utilizing claims that it is the only or best way to address affordability in the area -- which is patently false. I am also strongly against any change that would allow larger retail than current rules allow.

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The SoHo/NoHo report issued in early January was vague, though it implied that an upzoning of sites would be warranted if affordable housing is included. This is now being seized upon by vested interests, including groups led and funded by developers who own undeveloped property in the area that would directly benefit financially tremendously from the proposed upzoning. But the zoning for SoHo and NoHo already allows more than ample-sized development, as evidenced by numerous buildings of ten to thirty stories in height which have gone up in the neighborhood in recent years.  Addressing important needs like affordable housing and keeping these neighborhoods accessible to artists does not require zoning changes that would result in construction significantly larger than what the current rules allow. More than sufficiently large buildings that include affordable housing can be built on under-developed lots in the neighborhood right now; there is no need to upzone the neighborhood and allow for new development which could be substantially larger than that in order to provide affordable housing.  That is just an excuse to give developers bigger windfalls with the fig leaf of affordable housing thrown in to try to make it acceptable. For me, an upzoning is a deal-breaker for any plan for SoHo or NoHo.

I also strongly oppose any move to lift the existing 10K Sq ft limit for retail uses. SoHo and NoHo do not need to be further transformed into a mega-mall. While retail uses are important and well-run appropriate ones are welcome, they should not overwhelm the neighborhood, which very large big-box and multi-level stores tend to. We don't need to make the rules looser to accommodate more of these.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]

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