Bronx Organizers Propose Alternative Rezoning Plan
Mott Haven Herald
By Kimberly Chin
South Bronx community organizers opposing the city’s Jerome Avenue rezoning plan unveiled their own counter-proposal that would seek to get the community involved in the area’s future.
Activists emphasize local hiring and strong anti-displacement policies
South Bronx community organizers opposing the city’s Jerome Avenue rezoning plan unveiled their own counter-proposal Wednesday night that would seek to get the community involved in what happens to the area.
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan, first unveiled on Sept. 8, would turn a 73-block radius of Morris Heights from a mainly commercial area to a residential one. This would make way for thousands of affordable housing units.
Members of South Bronx Unite, Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA) and the Bronx Coalition for a Community Vision, who met at Brook Park in Mott Haven for a panel discussion about the dangers of rezoning, are afraid this will lead to massive displacement and small businesses closing.
“The only way to fight [rezoning] is to stop it, stop it before it starts,” said Thomas Angotti, a professor at Hunter College’s Urban Planning program.
The private real estate industry makes money from rezoning, Angotti said. The value of the land that they bought up, often secretly, can shoot up to a hundred-fold what they paid for once rezoning goes through.
