Politics & Government City Council Approves Inwood Rezoning Politicians and the city have touted the plan as a necessary response to Northern Manhattan's housing crisis, but many activists disagree. Reply INWOOD, NY — The New York City Council voted Wednesday to pass a controversial plan to rezone a 59-block section of Inwood that many neighborhood activists fear may accelerate gentrification in the Northern Manhattan neighborhood. The council voted overwhelmingly to pass the plan — 43 in favor, one against and one abstaining — despite disruptions in the council chambers by opponents of the plan. Protesters shouted "liar," "stop rezoning and displacement" and threw fake dollar bills during and after local representative Ydanis Rodriguez praised the plan before the vote. Dozens of protesters were escorted out of the council chambers by police while chanting "vote no." As protests continued outside the chambers, protesters were eventually kicked out of City Hall into the blistering heat, according to reporters on the scene. Protests continue outside the chamber - "we will not surrender" pic.twitter.com/mLQ3WoLzBv — Allegra Hobbs (@AllegraEHobbs) August 8, 2018 Protesters outside the entrance chant "let us in" and "vote no" - not the same protesters booted from the balcony, who were funneled out the back pic.twitter.com/WeKo6sboJp — Allegra Hobbs (@AllegraEHobbs) August 8, 2018 The plan will rezone 59 blocks north of Dyckman Street to increase density and allow for greater residential and commercial development along 10th Avenue and in the largely industrial areas east of 10th Avenue. The blocks west of 10th Avenue are being rezoned in an effort to preserve the neighborhood's current residential character by implementing R7A zoning — a mid-density rezoning that caps building heights. Follow more Washington Heights-Inwood news by signing up for Patch's free newsletter and news alerts. Both Johnson and Rodriguez touted the rezoning plan as a win for Inwood. The plan will create and preserve more than 5,000 apartments offered at below-market rates in a neighborhood that has gained less than 1,000 affordable apartment in the past 30 years and that is hemorrhaging rent-stabilized apartments, the council members said. "I believe this rezoning is necessary to preserve our community as a working class community," Rodriguez said Wednesday before voting in favor of the plan. The de Blasio administration has also pledged to invest more than $250 million in the neighborhood to benefit schools, parks, infrastructure and more as part of the rezoning package, officials said. These investments include fixes to neighborhood waterfront spaces, a $50 million investment in the George Washington High School complex and the creation of 100 percent below-market rate buildings on city-owned land such as the Department Of Transportation site on West 205th street. The plan was recently modified to remove planned zoning changes along Inwood's commercial stretches on Dyckman Street, Broadway and West 207th Street — an area the city labeled the "Commercial U." Rodriguez said the rezoning changes were removed due to community concerns. "I heard loud and clear that the rezoning was too broad and could threaten character of neighborhood. For that reason we took the U out of the rezoning," Rodriguez said Wednesday.<doc-sep>The City Council on Wednesday approved a rezoning of 59 blocks of Inwood amid unrelenting protests, the ejection of scores of advocates from City Hall and even a death threat against the local council member. The plan calls for injecting $200 million into projects for the northern Manhattan neighborhood, while allowing for greater development in some areas. Ahead of the vote, Council Speaker Corey Johnson sounded an alarm over a threat that was posted on Facebook appearing to target Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, who represents Inwood and whose support for the rezoning was critical. “We referred it to the NYPD, and the NYPD is on this,” said Johnson. “I don’t want to share any more about it, but Councilman Rodriguez did receive some extremely threatening messages, some death threats related to this.” During the vote in council chambers, 26-year-old Stephanie Frias stood up in the balcony, threw fake bills into the air and said Rodriguez was a “liar” over promises the plan would spur good-paying jobs. “You know you’re doing this for special interests!” she shouted. Security guards and NYPD detectives cleared the entire balcony after other community members joined Frias in decrying the plan. At least a dozen of the advocates were escorted out of City Hall.<doc-sep>There is a way of life in Inwood, a sense of place, order and community that is more than its surroundings suggest. There are the lush parks, including the 196-acre Inwood Hill Park, the last natural forest in Manhattan, and the riverfront views. There are the streets filled with low-rise walk-up tenements. And there is the diversity: Nearly half of the residents here are foreign born. But there is something else. To Kate Fray, an immigrant from England who has lived in New York for a decade and in Inwood for the last four years, it is “the way we speak to each other, the way we look out for each other, the way we look after each other.” Others speak of the Dominican culture evident in the shops and restaurants; three-quarters of Inwood’s almost 43,000 residents are Latino, and Inwood contains the highest concentration of Dominican residents in the city.<doc-sep>
The City Council has voted to approve the De Blasio administration’s contested proposal to rezone parts of Inwood to make way for roughly 5,000 new apartments, including 1,300 new affordable units. The approval didn’t come as much of a surprise. In late June, the City Planning Commission voted in favor of the city’s proposal and last week, the Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franhchises approved a modified version of the plan that omitted a central section of the proposed rezoning area, a u-shaped commercial corridor along Dyckman Street, Broadway, and West 207th Street. During the heated Wednesday afternoon hearing, Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez echoed his support for the rezoning, infuriating many of the local residents in attendance who held on to hopes that he would oppose the proposal. “The Inwood rezoning plan will create, protect, and preserve over 5,000 affordable units in the short term; improve our parks, and strengthen our small businesses,” said Rodriguez. This prompted angry outbursts from the audience and chants from people urging him to “vote no.” As @ydanis begins to speak before #InwoodRezoning, a resident shouts “liar” and throws what looks like fake money over the balcony pic.twitter.com/ysJqFpmFLl — katie honan (@katie_honan) August 8, 2018 “Shame on you,” one attendee shouted at Rodriguez. “You’re supposed to be representing the community and you know you’re doing this for special interest. Tell us what exact jobs this will be creating for the people,” she continued. Nevertheless, Rodriguez stated that he believed “that this rezoning was necessary in order to preserve our community as a working-class community.” The looming fear among Inwood residents of gentrification is already happening and creating more affordable housing, while boosting resources by transforming two Department of Transportation sites into permanently affordable housing developments and investing in neighborhood schools, might help offset the affects, countered Rodriguez. “The approval of the Inwood neighborhood rezoning means a fairer, stronger future for a community that has experienced decades of disinvestment. It means affordability, security, and opportunity for residents and new immigrants alike,” said Mayor de Blasio in a statement. “I thank Councilmember Rodriguez for his partnership in creating a bold plan that will benefit the community for generations to come.”