“i always look for the fool in the deal. If you don’t find one, it’s you.“

— Mark Cuban

Perhaps, the powers that be — those who actually care about Downtown and SoHo, now recognize that our current elected politicians don’t give a shit about us. But read the report and decide for yourself.

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SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Fails to Deliver: More Housing Destroyed Than Created

– Taking Stock at the One-Third Mark

Our allies at Village Preservation have issued a new report analyzing the impact so far of the December 2021 SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown upzoning. 

Why now? We’re one-third through the 10-year study period for which the City analyzed and predicted the impacts that the rezoning would have. Village Preservation researched how closely reality matches the City’s grandiose promises about the rezoning. The picture isn’t pretty.

The study found:

– Not a single unit of the promised affordable housing has materialized, compared to the 127 to 191 units that the City claimed would be created.

– Not a single unit of any housing has been built, debunking the City’s promises that 610 units would be constructed.

– However, large commercial development is planned where the City claimed housing would be built: namely, a 22-story building, headquarters for Chobani yogurt, is rising on the southwest corner of Bowery and East 4^th Street. 

– Developers have used the many loopholes in the rezoning to create super-luxury housing that includes zero affordable housing, for example, 43 Bleecker Street. 

– Developers have removed existing affordable rent-regulated housing to clear the way for new luxury development allowed under the rezoning. The City insisted this would never occur. We disagreed. 

  For example, 142 Greene Street — a 5-story, 25,000 square-foot building which formerly housed five artist lofts — is undergoing extensive renovation to convert the massive building to house a single family. This project epitomizes how the rezoning has destroyed more affordable housing than it has created. 

– A lawsuit by NYU challenging one provision in the rezoning will, if successful, make matters even worse, by opening up even larger loopholes to enable development without including any housing, affordable or otherwise. 

Read the full report here.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.

Sincerely,

Sean Sweeney