Via today's New York Times:

Compromise Is Reached on Harlem Rezoning

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS

Published: April 16, 2008

The Bloomberg administration’s proposal to rezone 125th Street in Harlem cleared a major hurdle on Tuesday when the area’s three City Council members signed off on a compromise plan that would limit the height of new buildings, add moderately priced housing and provide financial aid to businesses displaced by the rezoning.

The proposal was then approved by the Council’s Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee in a 10-to-1 vote. The agreement between the City Planning Commission and the council members, Inez E. Dickens, Robert Jackson and Melissa Mark-Viverito, virtually assures the plan’s passage by the full City Council later this month.

The rezoning of 24 blocks of Harlem, stretching from Broadway east to Second Avenue, and from 124th to 126th Street, centers on 125th Street — a cultural touchstone for African-Americans in the city and beyond. It has led to widespread opposition in the neighborhood because of concerns that it will change the character of the low-rise street and speed gentrification in the area, including forcing out long-term businesses and low-income residents.

But Councilwoman Dickens, who represents central Harlem, and who led what she and others involved described as contentious negotiations during the past three weeks, said on Tuesday that the agreement would provide sufficient protection for the neighborhood, which is among the poorest in the city.

“This has been one of the most challenging and difficult issues that I have ever faced, personally and professionally, because the rezoning of 125th Street will change the fabric of my district, my community, my home forever,” she said. “I said if there were no protections for my community, there would be no rezoning. After many hours of deliberations, disagreements and debate, I do believe the City Planning Commission heard me loud and clear.”

The rezoning would remake 125th Street, one of the city’s liveliest streets — and home to many small businesses like clothing stores, pawn shops and hair salons — into a regional business hub with office towers and more than 2,000 new market-rate condominiums.

The compromise was reached after an all-night negotiating session that started on Monday evening. It reduces the height limit on new buildings to about 19 stories from 29; creates a $750,000 loan program to assist 71 small businesses that would probably be forced to move; and allocates about $5.8 million in improvements to Marcus Garvey Park.

Residents who spoke at recent community meetings were worried that rezoning, combined with changes already under way in the neighborhood, would soon make Harlem unrecognizable.

Among projects planned for 125th Street are at least two hotels, two shopping malls and a tower that would be the headquarters of a new Major League Baseball cable television network.

In recent years, the street — which only a decade ago was still dotted with abandoned buildings — has become home to national retail stores, including Starbucks and Old Navy, and to the offices of former President Bill Clinton. The area has also seen a flurry of new residential construction, with the average price for a new apartment hovering around $895,000.

Perhaps the most significant change to the plan reached during the Monday night negotiations is the Bloomberg administration’s agreement to expand the number of low-income residents in Harlem eligible for moderately priced housing.

As part of the federal calculation that is used by the city to determine average household income levels, a family of four earning $61,450 can qualify for low-income housing. That figure is about double the average household income in Harlem, city statistics show.

During negotiations, the Bloomberg administration agreed to set aside about 46 percent of the 3,858 new apartment units the city would allow to be built as part of the 125th Street rezoning plan to families earning no more than $30,750 a year.

“It is a milestone,” said Amanda M. Burden, the Planning Commission chairwoman. “It’s something we haven’t done before.”

Some opponents remained unsatisfied.

Erica Razook, general counsel for Voices of the Everyday People, or VOTE People, a community group opposed to the rezoning, said the last-minute concessions by the Bloomberg administration only highlighted the flawed nature of the process.

“An issue like affordable housing should not be discussed by a couple of City Council members and the Planning Commission behind closed doors — it should have been discussed publicly,” Ms. Razook said. “They waited until the last minute and then decided, ‘We’re going to try to squeeze in some stuff about affordable housing to give everyone political cover.’ ”