Developers Plan Building Boom In East Harlem, Report Says

EAST HARLEM, NY — East Harlem is about to get a lot more crowded. The recently-rezoned neighborhood is one of the top 10 areas in the city with the most approved residential construction, according to a new report from the data analysts at Localize.city.

Between July 1, 2017 and July 1, 2018 the city Department of Buildings approved projects that will result in 732 new apartment units being built in East Harlem, Localize.city reported. The neighborhood ranked seventh in the city in terms of approved new construction and was second in Manhattan behind the Financial District, according to the report.

East Harlem, which was rezoned in 2017 to allow higher-density development, is also near the top of the list in neighborhoods with a high amount of projects awaiting city approval. Developers have filed plans to build 921 apartment units in the neighborhood that don't yet have the green light from the city, Localize.city reported.

City officials said that a divisive East Harlem rezoning plan would add 1,288 below-market units on the neighborhood's private development sites when the rezoning passed in late 2017. Neighborhood activist groups called the plan racist for increasing development in a majority minority community. The rezoning opponents feared that increased development will accelerate gentrification, drive up rents and contribute to the displacement of East Harlem's current residents.

The New York City Council voted overwhelmingly to pass the plan, which included building height caps on East Harlem's major avenues, a $50 million investment in the neighborhood's public housing and other community investments such as a $25 million investment in the outdoor market and event space La Marqueta.

The top five with the most approved residential construction in the city are Long Island City (1,436 apartments), East New York (1,200), Melrose (1,027), Bed-Stuy (848) and the Financial District (813), Localize.city reported. Of the top 20 neighborhoods: Seven are in the Bronx, six are in Brooklyn, five are in Manhattan and two are in Queens.

Check out the full Localize.city report here.

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