Harlem Residents Blast 125th Street Rezoning 'Sellout'

Posted by Maria Luisa Tucker at 12:05 PM, May 1, 2008

“You are the Aunt Jemimas, you are the Uncle Toms that have showed us that you don’t stand for the people who put you in office!” bellowed Sikhulu Shange, a member of the Coalition to Save Harlem and a local business owner who was part of a small but vocal group of Harlemites who made the trek downtown to tell off their elected officials before the city council’s vote on the plan to rezone 125th Street.

“Traitors!” another man interjected, as others held up posters demanding the recall of city Councilmembers Inez E. Dickens, Robert Jackson and Melissa Mark-Viverito, the three Harlem representatives who have pushed forward a modified version of the rezoning plan.

Their protests continued inside, where many were removed by police officers after refusing to quiet down; Their cries of "sellout" and "liar" were disrupting the city council's vote on the rezoning. Ultimately, the council voted overwhelmingly for the plan, which will change the face of 125th Street from river to river.

The rezoning has stirred months of rallies and protests, which Harlem's city councilors had hoped to quiet after they made significant modifications to the plan last month. At the 11th hour, Councilwoman Inez E. Dickens, whose district encompasses the commercial core of 125th Street, brokered a deal that lowered maximum building heights from 29 stories to 19, mandated significantly more affordable housing, and called for the renovation of the community's beloved Marcus Garvey Park.

While the modified plan sounds good on paper—the 46 percent affordable housing clause has been hailed repeatedly as an unprecedented—opponents say it's largely smoke and mirrors.

"It's bogus," says Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, a member of the Coalition to Save Harlem. "It's typical of a kind of politics that seeks to promote a system of exchange like, 'you buy our neighborhood, but make sure our park is renovated.' The renovation of Marcus Garvey Park is a real red herring. We never heard people ask for that." Rather, Rhodes-Pitts says that during community board hearings and public meetings, residents expressed a desire for assurances that real jobs—not part-time, minimum wage positions—would be brought to the area, and that the "affordable housing" would be actually affordable to Harlem residents with a median household income around $22,000. In the modified plan, only about 200 of the out of a proposed 3,858 units would be set aside for families earning $28,520 and less. "If you look at what people wanted and what’s in her compromise, there is no connect," Rhodes-Pitts said.

Others claim that the 46 percent affordable housing, considered the biggest win for Councilwoman Dickens, is misleading. Julius Tajiddin, who sits on Community Board 10's housing, land use and landmark committees, has demanded clarifications about the additional affordable housing that was added to the plan, but has so far received no response. His questions arose after reading a memo to Councilwoman Dickens that indicates some of the added "affordable" units will be built outside the area to be rezoned. One of those sites, where 300 units of affordable housing will supposedly be built, is actually at 131st Street and Park Avenue, six blocks from the 125th Street rezoning.

Essentially, said Tajiddin, rather than mandating that developers building luxury condos along 125th Street include more affordable units, the modified plan simply grabs nearby projects—city-owned sites already slated for affordable housing —to inflate the total number of affordable units. (It remains unclear how many of the additional "affordable" units will be outside the rezoned area.) "This plan stinks," he concluded.

The opponents don't plan to let up. One neighborhood group, Voices of the Everyday People, has asked for a temporary restraining order to stop the implementation of the plan. They will be in court next week to argue that the way the modified plan was approved violated the community's right to due process. Meanwhile, another protester told the Voice that the calls of "liar" and "traitor" will be heard again soon—at Councilwoman Dickens next fundraiser.

Harlem Residents to Proclaim Rezoning 'Ain't Over' on Saturday

Posted by Maria Luisa Tucker at 5:17 PM, April 25, 2008

“IT AIN’T OVER!” exclaims a flier by Voices of the Everyday People, a main opponent of the city’s plan to rezone 125th Street.

The group announced today that it would file a lawsuit against the city to stop the rezoning from moving forward, even after the city agreed to make significant revisions to the plan.

That compromise was reached April 15th when City Councilor Inez Dickens, who represents a large swath of Harlem, negotiated a community-benefits agreement that lowered maximum building heights from 29 to 19 stories and increased the affordable housing requirement.

Despite the deal, many still fear that the historic population of African-American residents and small business owners would be priced out of the neighborhood.

At an event scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, VOTE People promises to expose “the truth about Dickens ‘compromise’ and why we’re going to court.” They will meet at 201 Malcolm X Boulevard.

Harlem Vendors Protest 125th Street Rezoning

Posted by Maria Luisa Tucker at 1:50 PM, April 15, 2008

by Mr. 119th Street via Flickr

Yet another demonstration is planned this afternoon to protest the city's proposed 125th Street rezoning plan, which could change the face of Harlem's main commercial thoroughfare. This time it's street vendors who claim the proposed rezoning is top-down plan that puts corporate needs over those of community.

A group of street vendors are calling for an "emergency demonstration and rally" to be held today from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building. According to a flier for the event, more than 200 street vendors have been given the shaft by the city.

"There are 200 street merchants from St Nicholas to Lex Ave," the flier says. "They have been part of the fabric of Harlem life. They have been shuffled from one part of Harlem to another and worse, even assigned to projects that fail such as the Mart 125 and the 116th relocation. The 125th St rezoning proposal does not even address them. Lately they have been subjected to rounds of police harassment divide and conquer schemes, confiscation of goods and arrests."

One-hundred twenty-fifth Street is known for its street vendors, who sell everything from cocoa butter and incense to "street lit" and African jewelry. Critics of the rezoning proposal worry that small, local businesses, including street vendors, will be cleared out in favor of corporate retailers.

The city council could vote on the rezoning proposal as early as tomorrow.

Harlemites to Join Hands to Protest Rezoning

Posted by Maria Luisa Tucker at 3:56 PM, April 11, 2008

Photo by striatic via Flickr

At least 500 Harlemites are expected to join hands and create a human chain along 125th Street tomorrow to protest a sweeping rezoning proposal that could radically alter the face of the neighborhood.

The rezoning, detailed by the Voice in December, would allow developers to build up to 29-stories tall and likely speed the constructions of luxury condos in the rapidly gentrifying area.

While local groups have loudly voiced their opposition at town halls, community board and city planning meetings, tomorrow’s protest marks the first time the Coalition to Save Harlem, a main opponent of the plan, is taking the fight to the streets. “Given the traffic and the interest on the issue, we should gather a good crowd,” says Abdul Kareem Muhammad, a Coalition member.

Meanwhile, Voices of the Everyday People, another Harlem group opposed to the plan, is rushing to gather signatures of property owners near the area of the proposed rezoning. They plan to invoke a little-known part of the city charter that says any rezoning plan opposed by 20 percent of neighboring property owners can only pass if a supermajority of the city council approves it. That means a full three-quarters of the city council would have to vote in favor of the rezoning for it to actually go through. It remains unclear if the tactic will work.

What is clear is that the opposition will employ every weapon at its disposal – petitions, protests, lawyers -- in the few remaining days before the city council vote; The rezoning plan could be decided as early as Wednesday, April 16th.

The plan seeks to invigorate the economic development of 125th Street, but critics say it will drive out locally-owned businesses and, ultimately, the historic population of African Americans. The plan does give lip service to preserving the cultural character of the area by creating “distinct signage” and requiring developers to devote a portion of floor space to “qualifying arts and entertainment-related uses.” However, Muhammad calls that “a bone, a crumb.” “That’s saying ‘we’ll bring in a population of rich folk, but you can still have a few singers and dancers in the building.’ That’s of no value to the community.”

A number of groups will participate in Saturday’s protest, including the Coalition to Preserve Community, which has been a main opponent in the Columbia University expansion, and Community Boards 9 and 10. Protesters will gather at 11 a.m. along 125th Street from Broadway to 2nd Ave., join hands at noon to form the human chain, and rally at the corner of 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard at 1 p.m.

Says Mohammad: “We hope to have a strong influence next week on the council vote, but the issues we’re talking about will go beyond the vote. It’s about community survival.”