Stage Set For Major Public Hearing On SoHo Rezoning Plan

SoHo, NY — The City Council's lone public hearing on the controversial SoHo/NoHo rezoning plan is set for Tuesday.

The remote meeting part of the Zoning Subcommittee of the City Council will begin at 10 a.m., but is the fourth item on the agenda — meaning that the hearing on the Lower Manhattan rezoning won't take place until around 11:30 a.m.

Public speakers will be given two minutes for testimony. You can also submit written testimony to the City Council.

• Watch livestream of City Council public hearing on SoHo rezoning
• Sign up to testify
• Submit written comment

The City Council public hearing follows the City Planning Commission's approval on Oct. 20 of the Lower Manhattan rezoning proposal.

The plan to rezone parts of SoHo, NoHo and Chinatown is now in the hands of the City Council, which is the last part of the process before it goes to the mayoral reviews. 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 SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown rezoning plan would be a disaster for these neighborhoods, and set a blueprint for similar rezonings throughout our neighborhoods, which the current and incoming Mayor have both promised to do," Village Preservation, a Lower Manhattan preservation advocacy group, said in a news release on Monday. "IT’S CRITICAL THAT WE STOP IT!"

Mayor Bill 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.

The date of the City Council vote on the rezoning is not yet set.

Read More:

• Planning Commission Approves SoHo Rezoning, City Council Awaits
• Manhattan Borough Prez Doesn't Support Initial SoHo Rezoning Plan
• Lower Manhattan Community Board Rejects SoHo Rezoning Plan