NY's Top Court Refuses To Hear Appeal To Stop Inwood Rezoning

INWOOD, NY — The New York Court of Appeals on Monday announced it will not hear an appeal from the Northern Manhattan is Not for Sale coalition and Upper Manhattan residents about a controversial plan to rezone Inwood.

The rezoning plan proposes to upzone large areas of Inwood east of 10th Avenue to facilitate large-scale residential developments, while rezoning areas west of 10th Avenue in an attempt to preserve the existing neighborhood's character.

Supporters of Mayor Bill de Blasio's rezoning plan, including City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, say that it will create thousands of new affordable housing units in the area.

However, opponents are quick to point out that similar promises have been made in past rezonings, despite studies showing that those plans displace people of color at a disproportional rate.

The court did not explain its refusal to hear the appeal to stop the Inwood rezoning, according to Inwood Legal Action, which is a member of the Northern Manhattan is Not for Sale neighborhood coalition.

"In refusing to hear our appeal, the New York Court of Appeals is supporting and perpetuating New York City’s racist land use and housing policies, ignoring the needs of people directly impacted by those policies, and privileging the priorities of developers," Inwood Legal Action wrote in a news release. "It’s impossible to address something that you refuse to see."

In the initial lawsuit filed against New York City, Inwood Legal Action called on the city to study the impact of the Inwood rezoning plan on Latinx, Black, Asian, and Native Inwood residents.

Justice Verna Saunders subsequently ruled in the Upper Manhattan legal organization's favor in December 2019 and called on the city to study these impacts before proceeding with the Inwood rezoning.

However, that stoppage in work was then overturned in July by the First Department Appellate Court of New York. The court acknowledged the group's desire to explore the potential impacts on "racial and ethnic groups," but it ruled that it was not a necessary step for New York City to take in this matter.

Following the decision to overturn the stoppage, Inwood Legal Action then filed an appeal to the New York Court of Appeals, and it was this appeal on Monday that the court announced it would not hear.

Rodriguez held a news conference Monday afternoon in Washington Heights to discuss the decision and how it will bring "thousands of affordable housing units" to the area.