Can NYC Create a New Neighborhood Without Displacing an Old One?
New York City’s Department of City Planning thinks a section of the Bronx is ripe for development. (Photo by NYC Department of City Planning)
With a nod to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing plans, New York City’s Department of City Planning is inventing a “new neighborhood” to take what it thinks is a promising section of the Bronx from parking lots to high-rises. While the city has promised to make community outreach a cornerstone of its plans, the idea of a “new neighborhood” has left many who live there seeing Brooklyn-infused foreshadowing.
In October, the department conducted a walking tour for local residents and business owners of a 73-block corridor of a South Bronx neighborhood that starts a few blocks north of Yankee Stadium. City officials pointed to parking lots ripe for development and myriad public transit options that they think make the neighborhood ripe for revitalization.
City planners envision this section as a bustling retail and residential community they’re dubbing “Cromwell Jerome” (named after two intersecting streets in the area).
“The zoning hasn’t changed since 1961,” says Paul Philps, a senior planner with the city who is overseeing the Cromwell Jerome project. “It’s time to reevaluate and figure out opportunities for growth.”
But the October tour was interrupted by several protesters voicing their concerns about gentrification. The protest was a reminder of the double-edged sword of the city’s recent development push. As New York tries to grapple with both an influx of new residents — its population is expected to increase by almost 800,000 over the next 30 years — and the lack of affordable housing, it has turned to large-scale rezonings in outer boroughs, especially in low-income neighborhoods.
Even though these rezonings are often accompanied by affordable housing mandates, they’ve run up against opposition at every turn. From Flushing in Queens to East New York in Brooklyn, and now to “Cromwell Jerome” in the Bronx, residents and activists have said bringing in new people and businesses, and “beautifying” city streets will inevitably price longtime residents out.
For Rest of Story:
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/new-york-neighborhoods-bronx-cromwell-jerome-city-planning
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/new-york-neighborhoods-bronx-cromwell-jerome-city-planning
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