The vote to rezone one of Manhattan's last affordable neighborhoods goes in front of the City Council today. According to the latest rezoning proposal for Inwood at the northern tip of Manhattan, 2,500 affordable homes will be protected and there will be 1,600 new affordable homes, more than 900 of which will be built on public land. Over $500 million will be invested in education, transit, parks, the waterfront and infrastructure. Two Department of Transportation sites will be given away to fully affordable developments. New developments along the Harlem River would be required to provide public waterfront access, the city will provide a local high school with $50 million in funding and a new pilot program providing small businesses with rent-controlled leases for ten years would be introduced. Opposition to the rezoning has been fierce, as residents and activists fear the rezoning will spur gentrification and lead to the displacement of thousands of residents and small businesses. Despite City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez's promise that the rezoning will be great for the neighborhood, many members of the community are not convinced and have been protesting the rezoning. City Council member Francisco Moya of Queens issued a letter last week stating the administration "is trying to divide the working-class" pitting organized labor against low- and middle-class New Yorkers "while propping up a system that enriches developers." Nine protestors were arrested yesterday for blocking traffic with another arrested outside CM Rodriguezβs office. #inwood #rezoning #shermancreek #dyckman #dyckmanunited (at Inwood)
