Group Calls Bloomberg's Proposed LES Rezone "Racist"

Opponents of Bloomberg's proposal to rezone and develop Willets Point weren't the only ones angrily protesting yesterday; the public hearing held by the City Planning Commission [CPC] also drew outrage over a rezoning plan for the Lower East Side. The change would place height limits on buildings in an area that has swelled with luxury high rises, from Delancey Street to East 13th Street, and east of the Bowery to Avenue D. But NY1 reports that many residents outside the zone believe it would make neighborhoods like Chinatown even more of a bulls-eye for developers. Josephine Lee of the Coalition to Protect Chinatown told the commission, "We know that you will pass this plan regardless of how many people it displaces, regardless of how many people speak out against it."