Developer Seeks Hamilton Heights Rezoning For Apartment Tower

HARLEM, NY — A set of rowhouses in Hamilton Heights may be demolished to make way for a 17-story apartment tower, according to plans by a developer who is looking to rezone the site in order to build it.

The site, on West 142nd Street near Riverside Drive, consists of four three-story rowhouses — all of which are currently vacant — along with an empty lot on the corner. Developers are seeking to build a 170-foot-tall housing complex containing 81 apartments, including 20 affordable units.

To move forward with the project, however, the developers need the city to change the block's zoning code to allow for more dense construction.

After moving through the city's lengthy land use review process known as ULURP, developers hope to construct the building over 18 months, according to an environmental assessment study filed with the city.

The public will get to weigh in on the proposal at an April 20 hearing hosted by Community Board 9.

Shadows over Riverside Park

West Harlem was rezoned in 2012 to limit the size of new developments. In their proposal, developers Soma 142 LLC seek to change the zoning code at the development site to an even higher-density scheme than what used to govern the neighborhood — R9A, which can be found on "major thoroughfares" like West 96th Street, according to a city guide.

The rezoning would cover the empty lot, the three buildings being demolished, and an adjacent rowhouse that will stay in place but whose air rights will go toward the project.

In their study, developers Soma 142 LLC laid out two possible developments. In a "no-action" scenario where the rezoning is not approved, the existing rowhouses at 635-639 West 142nd St. would still be demolished, but replaced with a modest six-story, 60-foot-tall building with 23 apartments.

The hoped-for scenario, however, is the 17-story complex, which would also include demolishing the three buildings.

For their study, developers were required to conduct a shadow analysis to see whether the new building would block sunlight on nearby public spaces — which in this case includes Riverside Park, Riverbank State Park and the Broadway Malls.

The study found that the building would indeed cast shadows over those three spaces, including more than five hours of new shadows on Riverside Park on some winter days.

That shadow, however, would only fall on "a relatively small portion of the 22.41-acre" park, according to the study, concluding that the project will have no significant adverse impact on the area.

The identity of developer Soma LLC is not clear, but city records show the company purchased chunks of the development site one lot at a time, between 2013 and 2017, for at least $6.4 million combined.

"[Community Board 9] has been in dialogue with the developers and provided feedback throughout the process, and we look forward to taking public input at the hearing," board chair Barry Weinberg told Patch.

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