BY THE VILLAGE SUN | Joining the likes of Congressmember Carolyn Maloney and Assemblymember Deborah Glick, Congressmember Jerrold Nadler will speak out against the Soho/Noho rezoning before the City Planning Commission’s hearing.
Nadler, the chairperson of the House Judiciary Committee, and Christopher Marte, the Democratic nominee for Council District 1, will lead a rally at 120 Broadway on Thurs., Sept. 2, at 9 a.m., outside the hearing venue, to object to the current proposal to upzone Soho, Noho and Chinatown.
Nadler and Marte will be joined by speakers who will talk about the potential displacement of tenants and longtime small businesses, the deliberate exclusion of Chinatown from conversations about the rezoning and lack of translation services, and how this is, according to a press release, “just another racist rezoning” being rushed through during de Blasio’s final months in office.
Throughout the Soho/Noho rezoning process, residents of Soho, Noho and Chinatown have faced constant accusations of being racist merely for wanting to protect their homes. While, admittedly, many in the neighborhood are affluent, the most passionate advocates against the rezoning have been the loft tenants and rent-stabilized tenants who fear landlord harassment and displacement should the upzoning proceed, as has been the case with other upzonings under Mayor de Blasio.
The City Planning Commission hearing will start at 10 a.m. Thursday.
At an Aug. 23 hearing on the rezoning hosted by Borough President Gale Brewer, Congressmember Maloney and Assemblymember Glick spoke out strongly against the proposal.
“I believe this is an ill-conceived plan by the Department of City Planning,” Glick said. “If it would actually add to diversity in our community, I would support it. But I don’t believe that would be the case.”
“I strongly believe that the zoning plan fails to achieve its objective of creating affordable housing,” Maloney said. “It seems like they’re rushing it through in the closing days of this administration. It is extremely unfair.”
Way to go, Jerry. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Your constituents.
ps. with props to Deborah Glick, Brad Hoylman, and Carolyn Maloney
should we really be applauding federal electeds weighing in on local zoning issues in a manner that would explicitly contradict federal fair housing law?