City's SoHo Rezoning Initiative Begins In February

SOHO, NY — A six-month period of public meetings to solicit input on a city plan to rezone the SoHo and NoHo neighborhoods is set to begin in February, city officials announced this month.

The Department of City Planning will begin the process — which ultimately may lead to a rezoning of the neighborhoods — on Feb. 6, city officials said. Topics discussed during the meetings will include housing, jobs, retail and creative industries.

The planning initiative is being led by the Department of City Planning, Borough President Gale Brewer and local City Councilmember Margaret Chin. Zoning regulations for SoHo passed in the 1970s present "challenges to the continued vitality of the neighborhoods," according to a city press release.

"The SoHo / NoHo area has a rich, vibrant history, but we need to fix its zoning to lay the foundation for its future," Brewer said in a statement. "As the old rules have stopped working, the area has seen a steady march of special exemptions, one-off variances, and inappropriately large retail uses."

Much of SoHo was zoned for manufacturing uses in the '70s in order to protect a declining manufacturing sector in the face of neighborhood change. These days, SoHo is associated with high-end lofts and luxury retail corridors.

The neighborhood's industrial zoning technically does not allow for ground-floor retail and apartments. Such uses have been grandfathered in or granted through special permits, but neighborhood-wide zoning changes would allow more as-of-right uses.

"Every neighborhood in our city is unique – but none more so than SoHo and NoHo. These neighborhoods share a long, fascinating history of being filled with manufacturers, artists, residents, offices, shops and restaurants, all along charming historic streets," DCP Director Mariso Lago said in a statement.

"But, like all neighborhoods, SoHo and NoHo face unique challenges, not the least of which is outdated zoning."

After six months of public outreach, the city will draft a report that is expected to be released during the summer, city officials said. The city is working with a number of neighborhood stakeholders such as the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the SoHo Alliance, local community boards and neighborhood educational and political institutions.

The city's press release did not disclose where the Feb. 6 meeting will be held.

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