Inclusionary Zoning

While New York City neighborhoods have been grappling with gentrification and soaring housing costs since the beginning of the city’s charter, new redevelopment plans under the Bloomberg administration are positioned to dramatically speed up this process.  The administration is seeking to re-zone several industrial sites for housing that are in or adjacent to gentrifying neighborhoods and provide additional support and services for these new sites.  The proposed planning changes will either intensify the affordable housing crisis or, as analyzed by the Pratt Institute for Community Change and Economic Development (PICCED),  “set a new course toward ensuring a diverse, stable housing stock that serves the needs of the spectrum of New Yorkers.”  The tool that will allow for this second vision is Inclusionary Zoning.  Inclusionary Zoning is a mandatory law in which developers who are building in re-zoned areas are required to set aside a percentage of affordable units.  This will guarantee New Yorkers that the changes in their community will benefit them in the years to come.

Several important battles are happening around Inclusionary Zoning are in Chelsea/Hell’s Kitchen, Greenpoint/Williamsburg, Port Morris in the Bronx and Flushing Queens.  To find more about the proposed changes in these neighborhoods, check out the Pratt Institute's Center for Community & Environmental Development ( PICCED)'s recent report on Inclusionary Zoning at http://www.picced.org/pol-izreport.php

To join the fight for Inclusionary Zoning, and for more information on rally's, events and the issues as a whole, join the NYC Housing Here And Now Coalition.