Lack of Racial Impact Analysis Opens Inwood Plan to Legal Challenge in New York City

New York City is appealing a judge's decision to toss the Inwood NYC Action Plan, approved by the city in 2018. Next City describes the racial justice implications of the court case and the plan.

2 minute read

June 17, 2020, 6:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Inwood Hudson RIver

Jorge Moro / Shutterstock

"Black, indigenous and other people of color are fighting back against generations of structural violence waged against them based on race," writes Oscar Perry Abello. 

The racial equity conversation in recent weeks has turned to matters of land use, as the discriminatory history of exclusionary zoning and car-centric planning has faced another round of criticism as tools of systemic racism. Abello reports on the ongoing legal controversy over the Inwood NYC Action Plan, approved in 2018, which serves as a reminder that ostensibly progressive zoning reform isn't necessarily a victory for racial and social justice:

They’re also fighting back in the New York State Appellate Division court, which last week heard oral arguments in a case where residents of the heavily Dominican immigrant Inwood neighborhood filed a lawsuit charging that the city should have followed their demand for a racial impact analysis before rezoning 240 acres of the neighborhood. The rezoning would allow developers to demolish existing residential, commercial and mixed-use buildings and replace them with even larger buildings, containing 4,348 additional housing units, about a third of which would be income-restricted, as well as adding 1.1 million square feet of commercial space to the neighborhood.

The city is appealing a previous court decision that overthrew the plan, which Crain's New York Business covered without mentioning the demand for a racial impact analysis. An article published by City Limits, however, noted the lack of demographic considerations undertaken by the environmental review for the plan.

Cheryl Pahaham—a longtime Inwood resident, a member of Northern Manhattan is Not for Sale, and co-defendant in the lawsuit seeking to overturn the plan—is quoted in the article saying that the complaints about the Inwood NYC Action Plan focus on process. If that's the case, the city has a long way to go, and not just in Inwood, to make amends. Abello cites a study by Elena Conte, deputy director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, that examined 14 different neighborhood-level rezonings approved in New York City from 2004 to 2019. "Conte found there was not a single instance where the city determined there would be any significant 'adverse environmental impact' from commercial displacement," according to Abello.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020 in Next City

Aerial view of snowy single-family homes in suburban Long Island, New York

New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition

Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.

March 20, 2023 - Mark H. McNulty

Empty parking garage at night with yellow lines marking spots and fluorescent lighting

Rethinking the Role of Parking in the American City

In cities big and small, the tide is turning against sprawling parking lots, car-centric development, and minimum parking mandates.

March 16, 2023 - The New York Times

A futuristic version of New York City, with plants growing neatly on top of modern skycrapers.

Friday Eye Candy: 20 AI-Generated Cityscapes

AI-generated images are creating new landscapes and cityscapes, capable of inspiring awe or fear.

March 17, 2023 - Chris Steins via Medium

A mountain range at sunset appears in the background of this photo, with cacti in the foreground.

Biden Designates a New National Monument in West Texas

The Castner Range National Monument in West Texas is the second of two new national monuments announced by President Joe Biden this week.

1 hour ago - The White House

View of street in Chinatown, San Francisco with cars parked along curb and red Chinese lanterns hanging above street

Study: Autonomous Cars Won’t Solve the Parking Problem

In hyper-dense cities where incentives to reduce car use and eliminate parking are already high, mass adoption of AVs won’t significantly reduce parking demand.

3 hours ago - Streetsblog USA

A group of wetsuit-clad swimmers gathers to talk in shallow water near the shore of the San Francisco Bay.

Proposed Pool Would Make an Olympic-Sized Play Area in the San Francisco Bay

The San Francisco Bay is usually an undesirable place to swim, except for a hearty few. A development proposal seeking assistance at the state level would add a pool to the Bay’s waters to make the idea of going for a swim more appealing.

March 24 - The Mercury News

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

HUD’s 2023 Innovative Housing Showcase

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.