Drunk NYU students are ruining the East Village. At least, that’s what a lot of residents and business owners said last night while discussing a zoning plan aimed at preserving the character of the neighborhood.
zoning
Community Urges City Council to Reconsider Houston Street Upzoning
(Photo: Luisa Rollenhagen)
East Houston street is currently a hotbed of development, as any casual stroll down the street will reveal. Endless scaffolding, boarded-up properties, fences, and signs announcing new things to come line the sidewalks of lots previously occupied by local shops, community facilities, and residential buildings. Although a 2008 rezoning was implemented, ostensibly to preserve the existing buildings and the affordable housing that many of them contained, developers who bought up a sliver of land at 255 East Houston Street may get a special rezoning through of their own.
CB 3: Is It Time to Limit the Number of Bars, Banks and Chains On the Block?
(Photo by Kavitha Surana)
While the city council was busy debating high-level zoning changes to promote affordable housing, Community Board 3 also engaged in the ongoing effort to battle the effects of the city’s red-hot real estate market, putting forward ideas for new zoning to preserve downtown Manhattan’s traditionally vibrant retail scene.