Harlem Zoning Changes Will Allow for More Density

Plans to change Harlem’s zoning are moving forward."The East Harlem rezoning plan, which will boost the allowable size of buildings along certain corridors of a 96-block area. The change could create as many as 3,500 new apartments if the City Council signs off on the plan by the end of the year," Joe Anuta writes in Crain's New York. The rule change will benefit all land owners including some who have been accused by city officials of being bad actors. "Landowner Ross & Ross, for example, has been accused of blighting East Harlem for decades by neglecting a series of vacant walk-ups blemished by boarded-up windows," Anuta reports.

Still, the zoning change aims to create more housing, and "[a]ll developers who receive a density boost will be required to include affordable housing in their new projects," Anuta reports.