East Village Rezoning Latest News

NY Times 12/16/07 NY Post 11/07/06 GVSHP Op-ed in the Villager 08/16/06

East Village / Lower East Side Rezoning Plan from the Department of City Planning Map of the affected area

GVSHP urged inclusion of the Bowery and 3rd & 4th Avenue Corridors GVSHP’s recommendations to improve the rezoning plan

In November 2008, the City Council enacted into law a sweeping rezoning of the East Village. The new zoning will for the first time establish height limits for new development throughout the affected area, reduce the allowable bulk of new development in most of the area, cap air rights transfers, eliminate the current zoning bonus for dorms and hotels, and create incentives for the creation and retention of affordable housing.

One troubling shortcoming of the rezoning, however, was the exclusion of the 3rd and 4th Avenue corridors and the Bowery. GVSHP and others pushed very hard to get this area included, but the City stubbornly refused. GVSHP is working with community groups, the community board, and local elected officials, especially Councilmember Rosie Mendez and Borough President Scott Stringer, to advance a community-initiated rezoning plan for these blocks, which also desperately need it.