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Yesterday, the police were called during a charged meeting that saw the City Council approve Harlem rezoning in a 47 to 2 vote. Opponents of the plan yelled "sellout" and "liar," prompting their removal from the Council's balcony.
The plan will usher in new development around 125th Street, with denser and taller buildings. City Council member Inez Dickens, who represents the area and decided to approve the plan after the Planning Commission agreed to make 46% of housing "income-targeted", lower the building heights and invest millions in Marcus Garvey Park, said, "I’m fighting to support and protect my community. It’s an inclusionary program never before done in the history of this great city.”
Other City Council members hoped Dickens's negotiations would pave the way for their rezoning talks. Councilwoman Rosie Mendez of the Lower East Side said, “We’re going to bring Inez Dickens to those negotiations because we’ve only been asking for 30 percent [ affordable housing]. Inez, what can you get us?”
The two no votes were from members Tony Avella and Charles Barron, who both criticized the plan for planning "top down," instead of bottom up with the people's perspective. Avella said, "It’s not going to be the Harlem the people there think it’s going to be. It’s going to be Park Avenue," while Barron predicted, "Ten to 12 years from now, they will see that the housing will not be affordable. This will be the wholesale sellout of Harlem from river to river."
The Sun reports that yesterday a judge rejected a request for a temporary restraining order on the rezoning.
Photograph of 125th Street by panasenko on Flickr
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Attention ALL working class people. You live and enjoy life in a FREE market economy. EOM
"Affordable" - to be able to bear the cost of.
"income-targeted" - income that is targeted.
"Barron" - Early 22nd century term for total racist idiot.
I believe the govt should place artificial market restraints on these people's behalf, in return these people should limit their ability to walk and shop in certain areas where the rest of us suckers who are living in a free market society are playing the game right.
I think the communities fears are justified.
Fears of "what"? A better environment? I was born in Harlem in 1962. Being there was all about getting away.
Restore a chunk of ghetto to its bombed-out heyday for these teary eyed activists and let the developers have the Meer.
They should just plop a stage at 125th & Lex and hire Paul Mooney to insult every white person who passes by. That'll show those crackers trying to make Harlem all nice like only white people like it.
it's only taken 60 years. ah... progresss!!!!
I remember growing in on 121 as a kid and when people were starting to see Harlem as a up and coming place. And now I see what Gentrification can do since the people who live in Harlem will not be employed by the business who move there or be able to live there either.
The Negro and Latino population are the last in NY's lower class laborer narrative. The Industrial Revolution ended in the 1950's. The Irish, Jewish, Russian, Italian and German immigrants who forged their American identities in that era have now moved on and blended into the American middle, it's only the Negro and Hispanic who remain stuck in the urban slum paradigm.
What next, are people going to start crying when a rezoning occurs in BedStuy or East New York?
Is this the beginning of tearing down the housing projects across the city?
One can only hope.