Planning Commission Approves SoHo Rezoning, City Council Awaits

SOHO, NY — The SoHo rezoning plan took another step toward reality on Wednesday when the City Planning Commission voted to approve the controversial proposal.

The plan to rezone parts of SoHo, NoHo and Chinatown will now go to the City Council, which is the last part of the process before it goes to the mayoral review. Opponents of the plan see the City Council vote as the last chance to stop the proposal before Mayor Bill de Blasio undoubtedly approves his own plan.

"The Department of City Planning is failing its contractual duty to listen to and represent the diverse communities of Lower Manhattan," Christopher Marte, the Democratic nominee for City Council District 3, said in response to Wednesday's approval. "Instead, they are siding with the Real Estate industry to continue de Blasio's displacement agenda."

De Blasio and other supporters of the SoHo rezoning say the plan would create 3,200 new homes to be built in the historically business and arts-centric community, including around 800 affordable housing units.

The rezoning project would cover an area bounded by Canal Street to the south, Houston Street and Astor Place to the north, Lafayette Street and the Bowery to the east, and Sixth Avenue and West Broadway to the west.

The Department of City planning also has a section on its website explaining why the specific Lower Manhattan neighborhood was chosen to rezone.

While the mayor and city continue to flout the expected positives from the proposal, the last two official recommendations on the subject have been negative.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer at the beginning of September said she couldn't support the plan in its current form and Community Board 2 passed a resolution at the end of July rejecting the SoHo rezoning proposal.

Neither of these viewpoints were enough to sway the City Planning Commission on Wednesday from approving the plan.

“It’s shameful but not surprising that the City Planning Commission, controlled by the Mayor, would approve this disastrous plan that will deliver on none of its false affordable housing promises," Village Preservation, a Lower Manhattan preservation advocacy group, said in a news release Wednesday.

The date for the start of the City Council review is not yet set.

Read More:

• Manhattan Borough Prez Doesn't Support Initial SoHo Rezoning Plan
• Lower Manhattan Community Board Rejects SoHo Rezoning Plan