Community Driven Morningside Heights Rezoning Plan Released

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, NY — It has been five years since Morningside Heights community members first got together after realizing that they needed to do something to preserve the historic and social character of the neighborhood.

Now, after countless meetings and conversations, the Morningside Heights Community Coalition, along with multiple elected officials and the land use team at the City Council, released Friday its study and block-by-block plan to rezone the neighborhood.

The zoning laws in Morningside Heights have not changed since 1961.

The Coalition identifies the following seven priorities as most important to its rezoning plan, which was shared exclusively with Patch:

• Preserve hundreds of rent-stabilized units.
• Promote new affordable housing.
• Modernize outdated zoning and restrain the influx of luxury towers.
• Foster greater small business activity and opportunities through commercial zoning designation.
• Preserve the unique character of Morningside Heights.
• Develop a community-led plan that addresses the needs of the broad range of people who live in Morningside Heights.
• Create a model for other communities to develop their own plans.

"The zoning in Morningside Heights has not been changed since 1961, and it is desperately in need of an update," said Council Member Mark Levine in a news release about the plan. "The current zoning has led to the worst of all worlds: wildly out-of-scale mid-block towers and zero affordable housing."

While the many details of the extensive rezoning plan for the neighborhood are obviously important, understanding the community's push for the rezoning is what truly separates it from similar projects throughout the city.

• You can read the full Morningside Heights rezoning study and plan here.

For the past several years, battles have raged in neighborhoods like Inwood and SoHo over city-driven rezoning projects where community members felt that they weren't consulted.

The Morningside Rezoning project funnels in the opposite direction, with community members at the forefront of the push for new zoning laws.

“Neighborhood rezonings around the city have been met with tons of resistance from communities that feel they were not consulted, informed, or listened to," reads Friday's report from the Coalition about the rezoning.

"We felt there was a better way: embracing the ideas of community members and utilizing elected officials to support and guide - instead of dictate- the process. It has been a truly community-led process, and we believe this difference matters.”

Morningside Heights has watched for decades as it became more vulnerable to major development as nearby neighborhoods received rezoning approvals from the Department of City Planning (DCP) that checked over-development and promoted affordable housing.

The study released Friday identifies the vulnerability of rent-stabilized tenants, outdated 1961 zoning laws, a lack of affordable housing, and incoming commercial development as the four main drawing cards of developers looking to come into the neighborhood with luxury towers.

The DCP rejected a rezoning of Morningside Heights in 2018, which pushed the coalition to reach out to local elected officials to help develop a new strategy.

Morningside Heights runs from roughly 108th Street to 125th Street, between the Hudson River to the border of Central Harlem. Residents of the community have a median household income 20 percent below the citywide number and 86 percent of the neighborhood's units are rented — 20 percent above the citywide average.

The plan released Friday identifies 20 sites in a 15-block stretch between 110th and 125th streets that are vulnerable to luxury development without affordability requirements because of unused air rights or high vacancy rates.

A couple of those vulnerable sites include the TD Bank and vacant building at 2831 Broadway and the Rite Aid at 2853 Broadway. You can look through all 20 of these sites starting on page 53 of the report.

Additionally, the report also pinpoints four projected sites in Morningside Heights where the development of new affordable housing could be built under new zoning laws.

• 568 West 125th Street (Could be built to 17 stories, 353 units, 88 affordable)
• 2861-2871 Broadway (Could be built 23 stories, 245 units, 61 affordable)
• 2825-2835 Broadway (Could be built 23 stories, 278 units, 70 affordable)
• 2810 Broadway (Could be built 23 stories, 150 units, 38 affordable)

Current zoning laws in the neighborhood have no requirement for developers to include affordable housing.

"The ground-breaking Morningside Heights 'Community-Led' Rezoning Study captures the aspirations of our neighbors to maintain the quality of life they deserve," said Robert Stern, the Vice President of the Morningside Heights Community Coalition. "The study promotes reasonable development with affordable housing, and greater commercial opportunities while preserving rent-stabilized units to ensure a thriving and diverse community."

In terms of next steps, the Coalition will continue to hold town halls with community members over the rezoning, coordinate the environmental review needed in a rezoning approval, and work with the Department of City Planning in shaping its official proposal for rezoning.

"I'm grateful to Council Member Mark Levine and his office for collaborating on this thorough study that presents a balance between preservation and new development, protecting current residents and creating opportunities for affordable housing," said Brewer in a news release.

You can read the full Morningside Heights rezoning study here.