Talking Past and Future for East Harlem

Willa Hutner

 P.S. 109 was discussed at the East Harlem Revitalization and Rezoning panel organized by CIVITAS and the National Academy in December. Artspace and El Barrio’s Operation Fightback are converting the former school at 215 East 99th Street into affordable housing for artists. Photo by El Barrio’s Artspace.on Fightback are converting the former school at 215 East 99th Street into affordable housing for artists. Photo by El Barrio’s Artspace.

The second of a three-part series of lectures  co-organized by CIVITAS and the National Academy took place on December 4th. The series was designed to explore ways in which architects, planners, activists, scientists, and city agencies can work together to improve urban environments. The first discussion, described in CIVITAS’s winter newsletter, focused on the East River Esplanade. This one dealt with urban revitalization and East Harlem rezoning. 

Projects now under way in East Harlem show successful revitalization efforts and point the way forward. The question is whether East Harlem’s problems are so different from those in other neighborhoods that solutions that work there would not be transferable elsewhere. By the end of the discussion it was clear that projects now transforming the face of East Harlem are not only inspiring; they are also applicable elsewhere.

Moderator Karrie Jacobs, Contributing Editor of Metropolis and founding Editor-in- Chief of Dwell, opened the discussion with slides of atypical beauty in American cities. Beauty in an urban environment can include elements beyond our usual vocabulary. In her classes at the School of Visual Arts, she uses these examples to bring her students to an understanding of what is valuable in zoning.

The first panelist, architect Peter Gluck, made a distinction between zoning’s effect on the future and the changes now occurring in East Harlem. The High Line and the surrounding gentrification it has spawned are familiar. So are other dramatic changes to the city skyline.  Less well known are the moderate-cost buildings that not-for-profit institutions have managed to get built, vastly improving their ability to carry out their mission. These institutions are the anchors of any community. The first step in any urban revitalization is to become aware of the city already being built “under the radar”.

Second panelist Gus Rosado is Executive Director of El Barrios’s Operation Fightback, the first organization to bring small homes to first-time buyers in East Harlem. Public School (P.S.) 109, a school that was abandoned for twelve years, is now being renovated into ninety affordable live-and-work space for artists, as well as space available to community groups. 

Third panelist Matthew Washington, Chairman of Community Board 11 and CIVITAS Advisory Board member, argued that zoning is a powerful tool to create positive change in East Harlem where a great number of residents are facing difficult circumstances. The area has the city’s highest density of public housing. The average income is $32,000; the poverty rate exceeds 40%. Two thirds are either overweight or obese. Planners should approach rezoning here differently. They should begin by not considering building height or mass, or preservation vs. redevelopment, or gentrification, though rising land prices make that likely. Any rezoning scheme must support the needs of the community, and should aim toward promoting education, health, employment, affordable housing, and open space. It should find a way to take advantage of the Metro-North viaduct, and to bring industrial zones back to life. Zoning is a tool, and it should be used for a purpose. 

From left, CIVITAS Chairman Genie Rice with panelist Peter Gluck, Matthew Washington, Karrie Jacobs, Gus Rosado, and CIVIVAS Executive Director Lauren O'Toole

CIVITAS and Community Board 11 have jointly developed zoning recommendations to encourage the following goals in the community: affordable housing opportunities, economic development and job creation, new buildings that are contextual in scale with their surroundings and revitalization of Park Avenue. The rezoning study area includes Madison, Park and Lexington Avenues between 115th and 132nd Streets. The area has not been rezoned in its entirety in over 50 years. The next step for the rezoning recommendations is adoption by the NYC Department of City Planning. 

To read the complete Winter 2014 issue of CIVITAS News, visit http://civitasnyc.org/civitas-newsletters/

RSVP Now: Urban Revitalization and East Harlem Rezoning

New Panelist: CIVITAS Advisory Committee Member Matthew Washington

Wednesday, December 4
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Admission is FREE for CIVITAS members. Find out how to become a member.

CIVITAS's discussion series continues this December with an investigation of urban revitalization through the lens of East Harlem rezoning and updated land use policies. This panel of neighborhood leaders and experts will look specifically at projects currently under way in East Harlem, including the renovation of the former P.S. 109 into affordable live-work space for artists, and the transformation of La Marqueta, a marketplace under the Metro North railway tracks between East 111th and East 116th Streets that was once the economic and social center of the neighborhood.

Moderator:
-Karrie Jacobs - Contributing Editor, Metropolis; founding editor-in-chief, Dwell

Panelists:
-Matthew Washington - Chair, Community Board 11, Advisory Member of CIVITAS
-Peggy Shepard - Co-founder and Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
-Gus Rosado - Executive Director, El Barrio's Operation Fightback

All discussions in the series will take place at the National Academy
1083 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street. map

Admission:
CIVITAS members: FREE
General Admission: $15
Seniors and Students: $10

For tickets, visit the National Academy online or call (212) 369-4880 x 201.
CIVITAS members can RSVP by calling the museum at the above number.

RSVP Now: Upcoming Lectures Sponsored by CIVITAS

Guide To NYC Urban Landscapes: A Book Talk

The Arsenal, Third Floor Gallery 
830 Fifth Avenue, 
In Central Park at 64th Street

$15 for CIVITAS members, $20 non-members. Find out how to become a member. Tickets may be purchased here.

Join us for an illustrated lecture on places and landscape design, from 19th century cemeteries to the Upper East Side's Conservatory Garden, with stops in-between.

New York City is easily recognized worldwide by its skyscrapers and densely-populated urban environment. Robin Lynnand Francis Morrone, in their newly-published Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes, point to the less obvious but equally beautiful aspects to our city's fabric - the city's low-scale open spaces, as inspiring as those found in nature.

Morrone provides an exciting insider's look at New York City's outstanding and surprising urban oases. Take a look at Morrone's blog on New York City parks to learn more about our city's valuable green spaces! http://bit.ly/UrbanLandscapes

This event is co-sponsored by Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and the Historic House Trust.

Urban Revitalization and East Harlem Rezoning Discussion

RSVP Now

Wednesday, December 4, 2013
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Admission is FREE for CIVITAS members. Find out how to become a member.

CIVITAS's discussion series continues this December with an investigation of urban revitalization through the lens of East Harlem rezoning and updated land use policies. This panel of neighborhood leaders and experts will look specifically at projects currently under way in East Harlem, including the renovation of the former P.S. 109 into affordable live-work space for artists, and the transformation of La Marqueta, a marketplace under the Metro North railway tracks between East 111th and East 116th Streets that was once the economic and social center of the neighborhood.

Moderator:
-Karrie Jacobs - Contributing Editor, Metropolis; founding editor-in-chief, Dwell

Panelists:
-Peggy Shepard - Co-founder and Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
-Gus Rosado - Executive Director, El Barrio's Operation Fightback
- A representative from Community Board 11

All discussions in the series will take place at the National Academy
1083 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street. map

Admission:
CIVITAS members: FREE
General Admission: $15
Seniors and Students: $10

For tickets, visit the National Academy online or call (212) 369-4880 x 201.
CIVITAS members can RSVP by calling the museum at the above number.

Save The Date: Transportation and the Second Avenue Subway Discussion

Wednesday, January 8, 2013
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

CIVITAS's discussion series concludes with a panel on the construction of the Second Avenue Subway and transportation infrastructure. How can urban design and public art transform street-level spaces to be more functional and beautify below-ground levels on a grand scale?

Moderator:
-James S. Russell - Architecture columnist,Bloomberg News

Panelists:
-Sandra Bloodworth - Director, MTA Arts for Transit
-Mitchell Joachim - Ph.D., Co-founder and Director of Research, Terreform ONE
-Cesar Pelli - NA, architect

All discussions in the series will take place at the National Academy
1083 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street. map

Admission:
CIVITAS members: FREE
General Admission: $15
Seniors and Students: $10

For tickets, visit the National Academy online or call (212) 369-4880 x 201.
CIVITAS members can RSVP by calling the museum at the above number.

CIVITAS I Three Upcoming Events Examine Our Urban Communities

Guide To NYC Urban Landscapes: A Book Talk

Wednesday, November 20th at 6:30 pm
The Arsenal, Third Floor Gallery
830 Fifth Avenue, in Central Park at 64th Street 

$15 for CIVITAS members, $20 non-members

New York City is easily-recognized worldwide by its skyscrapers and densely-populated urban environment. Robin Lynn and Francis Morrone in their newly-published Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes point to the less obvious-the city's low-scale open spaces, as inspiring as those found in nature. Join us for an illustrated lecture on places and landscape design, from 19th century cemeteries to the Upper East Side's Conservatory Garden, with stops in-between. Morrone provides an exciting insider's look at New York City's outstanding and surprising urban oases.

Tickets may be purchased here.

This event is co-sponsored by Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and the Historic House Trust.

Urban Revitalization and East Harlem Rezoning Discussion

Wednesday, December 4, 6:30 - 8:00 pm

Admission is FREE for CIVITAS members.  Find out how to become a member.

CIVITAS's discussion series continues this December with an investigation of Urban revitalization through the lens of East Harlem rezoning and updated land use policies. This panel of neighborhood leaders and experts will look specifically at projects currently under way in East Harlem, including the renovation of the former P.S. 109 into affordable live-work space for artists, and the transformation of La Marqueta, a marketplace under the Metro North railway tracks between East 111th and East 116th Streets that was once the economic and social center of the neighborhood.

Moderator:
-Karrie Jacobs - Contributing Editor, Metropolis; founding editor-in-chief, Dwell

Panelists:
-A representative from Community Board 11
-Peggy Shepard - Co-founder and Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
-Gus Rosado - Executive Director, El Barrio's Operation Fightback

All discussions in the series will take place at the National Academy
1083 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street. map

Admission:
CIVITAS members: FREE
General Admission: $15
Seniors and Students: $10

For tickets, visit the National Academy online or call (212) 369-4880 x 201.
CIVITAS members can RSVP by calling the museum at the above number.

Save The Date: Transportation and the Second Avenue Subway Panel Discussion

Wednesday, January 8, 2013
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

CIVITAS's discussion series concludes with a panel on the construction of the Second Avenue Subway and transportation infrastructure. How can urban design and public art transform street-level spaces to be more functional and beautify below-ground levels on a grand scale?

Moderator: 

-James S. Russell - Architecture columnist,Bloomberg News

Panelists:
-Sandra Bloodworth - Director, MTA Arts for Transit
-Mitchell Joachim - Ph.D., Co-founder and Director of Research, Terreform ONE
-Cesar Pelli - NA, architect

All discussions in the series will take place at the National Academy 

1083 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street. map

Admission:
CIVITAS members: FREE
General Admission: $15
Seniors and Students: $10

For tickets, visit the National Academy online or call (212) 369-4880 x 201.
CIVITAS members can RSVP by calling the museum at the above number.

CIVITAS announces...

A joint panel discussion series with 

the National Academy Museum 

Fall 2013 and Winter 2014 

on Art, Design and the Urban Environment.

Topics include the East River Waterfront, Second Avenue Subway, Zoning and Neighborhood Revitalization. Artists, policymakers and urban innovators will meet in panel discussions to speak about Upper East Side and East Harlem issues.

Discounts for admission will be available to CIVITAS members. 

Stay tuned for dates and details on www.civitasnyc.org or call (212) 996-0745. The National Academy is located at 1083 Fifth Avenue.

CIVITAS In Action

Memorial Sloan-Kettering - CUNY Hunter College East 74th Street Project 

At numerous community meetings, CIVITAS has testified for open space improvements to be part of a proposed 450-foot-tall complex by the City University of New York Hunter College (CUNY) and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). The location is between East 73rd and East 74th Streets and York Avenue and the FDR Drive. The million square-foot project’s application has entered the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which includes recommendations to the NYC Department of City Planning from the Community Board and the Manhattan Borough President. 

CIVITAS is strongly in favor of improvements to the nearby East River Esplanade and feels that additional open space needs to be created and improved on the development site or very close by to accommodate the thousands of daily visitors. 

The project consists of an ambulatory cancer care hospital and nursing school and is currently a city-owned site, zoned for manufacturing (M3-2). The applicant is seeking a zoning change to a commercial (C1-9) lot, which allows for a 10 Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The applicant is also requesting a zoning text amendment for additional development rights (2 FAR), which could exceed 130,000 square feet. 

CIVITAS has urged open space improvements that are immediately proximate to the development site to handle its negative impacts, high automobile and pedestrian traffic and building density. We insist on improvements that are commensurate with the extremely valuable development increases being considered. 

Expansion of City Recycling Program 

New York City recently announced the biggest expansion of its recycling program in 25 years which it states will lead to more than 50,000 tons of waste diverted from landfills. The biggest change is that New Yorkers can now recycle hard plastics, including: 

• plastic bottles, jugs & jars 

• plastic caps & lids 

• plastic food containers (yogurt, deli, hummus, dairy tubs, cookie tray inserts, “clamshell” containers, other plastic take-out containers) 

• plastic packaging (“blister-pak” and “clamshell” consumer packaging, acetate boxes) 

• plastic housewares (flower pots, mixing bowls, plastic appliances, etc.) 

• bulk plastic (crates, buckets, pails, furniture, large toys & appliances, etc.) 

You can find a full list of what you can and cannot recycle on the Department of Sanitation’s website: on.nyc.gov/16CqDQF 

Apartment Building Recycling Honor Roll 

Congratulations to the following building for their participation in the Apartment Building Recycling Initiative: 

• 1192 Park Avenue 

• 410 East 57th Street 

• 1070 Park Avenue 

Join the Honor Roll! Contact CIVITAS at 212.996.0745 or visit: bit.ly/V76M7G 

City & Suburban and First Avenue Estates Model Tenements 

CIVITAS wishes City & Suburban Houses a happy 100th anniversary. We joined many neighbors in May to commemorate this milestone and the long fight to make this historic East 79th Street complex a NYC landmark. Betty Cooper Wallerstein, Andrew Dolkart, Tony Wood and many veterans of the preservation battle gathered at Temple Sharaay Tefila to celebrate. 

At deadline, the fate of another model tenement, First Avenue Estates, remains in limbo and is up for public hearing in June at the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The owner, Stahl Development, has made a hardship claim against landmark status. CIVITAS has testified in support of keeping the historic designation and commends Friends of the UES Historic Districts for leading the charge to uphold the landmarks law. Both tenement complexes were granted landmark status for their role in the Progressive Era housing movement. 

East Harlem Rezoning Update and Park Avenue Vision Session 

In spring 2013, Community Board 11 submitted zoning recommendations to the NYC Department of City Planning (DCP) for the Madison, Park and Lexington Avenue corridors. Developed in partnership with CIVITAS and described in detail in the winter 2013 newsletter, the study included suggestions for rezoning this area between 115th and 132nd Street. The full text of the zoning study is available on civitasnyc.org. We look forward to swift action by the DCP to bring much-demanded, up-to-date zoning to East Harlem. 

As part of a focus on revitalizing and improving the Park Avenue corridor, CIVITAS joined many stakeholders at a May visioning workshop sponsored by the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Much of the discussion focused on the Harlem-125th Street Metro North Rail Station, the nearby abandoned comfort station and the open space below the viaduct. Many East Harlem neighbors who were part of CIVITAS’s rezoning meetings in 2012 consider new uses (not parking lots) and better design under the viaduct to be key changes to revitalizing this corridor. Do you have suggestions to improve the rail station, comfort station or viaduct near 125th Street? If so, pass along your ideas to CIVITAS and we will share them with EDC. The agency is working with WXY Architecture + Urban Design and Philip Habib & Associates and expects to share their plans later in 2013. 

CIVITAS Events 

In winter 2013, Syracuse University’s Lubin House exhibited Reimagining the Waterfront’s first place designs by Joseph Wood, an architecture graduate student. Syracuse Dean Randall Korman spoke at the February opening reception. Pictured: Sarah Henry (Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Museum of the City of New York), Hunter Armstrong, CIVITAS Director Lucienne Bloch & Claude Bloch, a Syracuse alumnus.

In February, Joan K. Davidson, honorary chair of the 2013 Annual Benefit, played host to a cocktail party celebrating the August Heckscher awardees. Pictured: Honorary Chair Dan Brodsky, CIVITAS Chairman Genie Rice, Honorary Chair Joan K. Davidson, Honoree Edie Kean and CIVITAS President Felipe Ventegeat. 

In May, Hunter Armstrong and architectural historian John Kriskiewicz presented “East of Eden” at House of the Redeemer. The lecture was a detailed, illustrated history of East 96th Street and how policy, preservation and advocacy have influenced its diverse development. More than 80 guests attended the jointly-sponsored lecture and reception in the House’s historic library. Pictured: Janet Robertson, a House trustee, and John Kriskiewicz.

In April, CIVITAS was honored with the Visionary Award by Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. The award was for the Reimagining the Waterfront Esplanade project and presented by Kent Barwick (pictured right) at the Park Avenue Armory. Also pictured are Bill Bateson, Neville Epstein, Hunter Armstrong and Felipe Ventegeat. Photo courtesy of Friends. 

In May, CIVITAS and Trees New York co-sponsored a tree stewardship workshop at East 120th Street and Paladino Avenue. Volunteers cleaned and planted in tree beds recently installed by Trees New York to absorb stormwater runoff. The service project also coincided with the Great Saunter, a 32 mile walk along Manhattan’s shore, and volunteers cheered on participants as they walked the Esplanade. 

 

In May, CIVITAS joined Upper Green Side, East River C.R.E.W. and Friends of the Esplanade for It’s My Park Day, a citywide park cleanup event. Volunteers planted rose and butterfly bushes in the planter at East 96th Street and the FDR Drive. The daffodils and tulips that we planted along the Esplanade during last fall’s park clean up event survived the brackish floodwaters of Superstorm Sandy and bloomed this spring.

Air Quality and Recycling Workshop 

To celebrate Earth Day, CIVITAS sponsored an Air Quality and Recycling Workshop at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House on April 22. Topics included the NYC Clean Heat Program and alternatives to the polluting No. 6 oil, as well as the NYC Department of Sanitation Apartment Building Recycling Initiative. 

Harlem Earth Day Panel Discussion 

As part of the Harlem Earth Day 2013, Executive Director Hunter Armstrong participated in a panel discussion on environmental justice at My Image Studios. The event was sponsored by Harlem Park to Park and fellow panelists included environmental activist Peggy Shepard with West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT), Donnel Baird with Echo Green, and Tony Hillery from Harlem Grown. 

To read the complete spring 2013 issue of CIVITAS News, visit http://civitasnyc.org/civitas-newsletters/

An Analysis of the 2003 East Harlem Rezoning

Michael J. Storm 

Almost a decade ago, in June of 2003, the New York City Council approved a proposal to rezone a significant portion of East Harlem. The event was a triumph for both CIVITAS and Community Board 11, which had been jointly working on the project since 2000. Since 2003, the rezoning has had a substantial effect on neighborhood growth and composition by controlling where and how much redevelopment occurs. The results have been a success for East Harlem. 

The Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College at 119th Street and Third Avenue was constructed in 2011 and is an example of the contextual zoning requirements proposed in 2003 by CIVITAS and CB11. 

Photo by Michael J. Storm. 

The transformation that has occurred in East Harlem is seen in the development that has taken place since 2003, much of which is located on Second and Third Avenues. CIVITAS’s research indicates that in less than a decade more than 45 new buildings have been constructed in the rezoned blocks. New development, such as the new Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College on East 119th Street, exemplifies the contextual zoning requirements that CIVITAS and CB11 proposed: height limits, a contextual street wall, and a mandatory setback above the height of surrounding buildings.

Starting with a neighborhood assessment, CB11 developed a rezoning proposal with the guidance of Richard Bass, a professional planner hired by CIVITAS. The area in consideration covered 40% of East Harlem: between East 98th and East 123rd streets, extending from slightly east of Lexington Avenue to the East River. Of primary concern to both CIVITAS and CB11 was the increase of new development in East Harlem that, if left unchecked, could drastically change the neighborhood’s built environment. 

While the development in East Harlem was beginning to grow, the existing zoning designation, called R7-2, gave developers the most area when they built tall towers surrounded by open space, similar to many public housing developments. Not only did these buildings disrupt the neighborhood’s low-rise character, they discouraged investment in building on smaller properties such as vacant lots. Construction under R7-2 also lacked a height limit, allowing developers to purchase air rights from surrounding buildings to build even higher. 

The Miles at 121st Street and Lexington illustrates the effect of the R7-2 Zoning incentives. The 32-story building sits along Lexington Avenue, stretching from 121st street to 122nd street. Behind the slab building is a barren open space occupying about half of the city block. Across the street, similar buildings on smaller lots are set back from the street. There are only two residential entrances on the street, not counting the Miles, and no storefronts. While the tall buildings allow for open space at the base, the open space is barren and the lack of buildings fronting 121st Street leaves the street itself abandoned—it is uninteresting at best and unsafe at worst. 

The new contextual zoning requirements are identical to the Quality Housing program that was available before the 2003 rezoning with one crucial difference: Quality Housing was an optional addition to traditional zoning regulations whereas under contextual zoning, it is a requirement. An additional attribute of the recent rezoning has been the location of new developments on small vacant lots, a result of choices made in building density, known as floor area ratio (FAR), by CB11 and CIVITAS during the rezoning process. 

The limit on density along the side streets discourages redevelopment of existing buildings, retaining housing stock for the community and preserving the scale and residential character of the side streets. “When you look at the math [the FAR of the 2003 rezoning] there is not enough incentive to knock down an existing building” said Richard Bass of the rezoning. 

Increasing the FAR was a tool in the rezoning for redevelopment but only applied to the major avenues, which were up-zoned significantly. Increasing the density along avenues created a large amount of new development at higher density that would not have occurred under the conditions of R7-2, and “it is probably where the rezoning had its greatest impact,” according to CIVITAS Director Mark Alexander, “the avenues can hold it.” 

As CIVITAS continues to work with CB11 on rezoning other areas of East Harlem, the successes of the 2003 rezoning will continue to inform our engagement with the zoning process. 

To read the complete spring 2013 issue of CIVITAS News, visit http://civitasnyc.org/civitas-newsletters/

Update: CB11 Approves Zoning Recommendations for East Harlem

On Tuesday, Community Board 11 (CB11) approved the rezoning recommendations for East Harlem developed by CIVITAS and CB11’s Zoning Task Force.  The study area for the rezoning includes Madison, Park and Lexington Avenues between 115th and 132nd Streets.   To see the proposed zoning map and recommendations, visit www.civitasnyc.org which will include ongoing updates on the rezoning.

The next step for the rezoning recommendations is the formal review, additional public outreach and adoption by the NYC Department of City Planning.

This is a joint project with CIVITAS and Community Board 11 (CB11), whose zoning task force is led by Lashawn Henry (committee chair) and Diane Collier (vice chair).  The recommendations were developed to encourage the following goals in the community: affordable housing opportunities, economic development and job creation, new buildings that are contextual in scale with their surroundings and the revitalization of Park Avenue.  The area has not been rezoned in its entirety in over 50 years.

The Park Avenue Metro North Viaduct

To gauge the community’s needs, the CIVITAS and CB11 team convened hundreds of East Harlem residents at community meetings and roundtable discussions in 2012 to discuss their visions for the future of this area.  The zoning recommendations have been designed to be fine-grained and site specific (unlike much of the current zoning) and to address needs across a diverse section of East Harlem.   This area includes the neighborhood shopping corridor on 116th Street; lots alongside Park Avenue’s elevated Metro North viaduct: and quiet, low-rise side streets.

Breakout Session at the July 2012 Community Meeting

Throughout the process, the team has met with 

elected officials and government agencies including the Department of City Planning, Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the NYC Economic Development Corporation.  Through fundraising among CIVITAS members and the support of the Greve Foundation and New York Community Trust, CIVITAS and Community Board 11 were able to hire Insight Associates (Ethel Sheffer, principal) and George Janes Associates, professional planners, to develop the zoning recommendations. 

The complete recommendations and zoning maps and ongoing project updates are linked to www.civitasnyc.org/east-harlem.  They include some of the following: R7-D (medium density, contextual) around 116th Street to allow for affordable housing incentives; C4-4L (commercial) to encourage commercial activity and guide urban design along part of Park Avenue; R6-A (medium density, contextual) was selected to protect the historic scale of upper Madison Avenue; an MX district to encourage a mix of light industry and housing along Park Avenue and C6-2 (commercial zoning) near the 125th Street corridor and Metro North rail station.   The study area does not include the 125th Street corridor itself which was rezoned in 2008.

In The News

News reports from December 2012: DNAInfo "East Harlem Community Board Favors Hybrid Zoning Plan."

News reports from October 2012: DNAInfo: "East Harlem Plans for Future With Rezoning Proposals"](http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121025/east-harlem/east-harlem-plans-for-future-with-rezoning-proposals#ixzz2AQqGizUl) and The Daily News:["New zoning eyed for East Harlem’s desolate 17-block gasoline alley"

Upcoming Meetings

The CB11 Landmarks, Land Use & Planning Committee meets monthly.  Check this calendar for updates: http://www.cb11m.org/event

UPDATE: Rezoning for Madison, Park and Lexington Avenues in East Harlem

Hunter F. Armstrong 

The initiative to plan for East Harlem’s future and bring modernized, appropriate zoning to the neighborhood is underway. Over the course of summer and fall 2012, CIVITAS and Community Board 11 partners reached out to many neighbors to define their future needs for their community. Providing professional support to the team are Insight Associates, Ethel Sheffer, and George M. Janes Associates consultants. In the words of planner George Janes, the outreach is focused on “what East Harlem could be in the future and how zoning can be a tool to realize that vision of the future.” The average person does not speak the language of zoning, so the focus has been to identify what East Harlemites would like to see in the future of their neighborhood. Specific zoning recommendations can be drafted to implement that vision. 

Zoning development scenarios. Courtesy of Insight Associates and George M. Janes Associates. 

The focus area for the rezoning is over 60 blocks, including both sides of Madison, Park and Lexington Avenues between 115th and 132nd Streets. 125th Street was rezoned in 2008 and is not included in the current project. One of the major landmarks in this area is the Park Avenue Metro North viaduct, which casts shadows on the street below and provides a constant din of commuter trains rushing overhead. 

Much of East Harlem west of Lexington and including the study area is zoned R7-2, which encourages “tower in the park” development and a very dated vision of urban development. George Janes called this zoning “antiquated, undesirable and even anti-urban for what it does to the form of the city and it’s being changed all over the place. But this doesn’t mean that the planners in the 1950s were wrong: they simply had a different vision for the city and what was important.” 

CIVITAS and CB11 see the rezoning as a continuation of their major grassroots effort that resulted in a rezoning of many blocks east of Lexington Avenue. Approved in 2003, it was the first major rezoning of that area since the 1960s. 

To gauge community needs in the rezoning, CIVITAS and CB11 have organized roundtable discussions, committee meetings and two large community meetings in July and October at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. Incidentally, this new school building is located at Third and 119th, and was constructed in the 2003 rezoned area. 

Members of the community discussed their preferances for new zoning at an October meeting. 

Participants in community meetings have consisted of a wide range of stakeholders including block and tenants’ associations, affordable housing developers, government agencies, elected officials, churches and other non-profits, as well as many other committed, interested neighbors.

At the October 22 meeting, the land use planners presented different visions to gauge the community’s priorities. Accompanying this were zoning scenarios to implement the visions. Each plan reflected a particular bias, which included zoning modernization, economic development, housing, downzoning (limiting development to its current scale) and a hybrid scenario reflecting pieces of the other priorities. With these, meeting participants reflected on their goals and aspirations for the future of East Harlem. 

Additional public meetings and outreach are scheduled for fall and winter 2012 and an update will be in the next CIVITAS newsletter in 2013. 

This project is made possible through the support of the New York Community Trust, the William and Mary Greve Foundation and Manhattan Community Board 11. 

To learn more about East Harlem rezoning, visit: www.civitasnyc.org/east-harlem-rezoning 

What Do You Want the Future of East Harlem to Look Like?

Join Community Board 11, CIVITAS, and land use consultants Insight Associates and George M. Janes & Associates to discuss

Land Use and Zoning in East Harlem

Learn how zoning can be used to create affordable housing, promote economic development, and control building sizes and heights. 

Area Considered:

Madison to Lexington Avenues and 115^th to 132^nd Streets

(excluding 125^th Street Corridor)

CIVITAS and Community Board 11’s Zoning Task Force have been working together to plan for the future of the neighborhood and take advantage of new zoning policies. CIVITAS and Community Board 11 have collaborated in the past, including the 2003 rezoning of 99th to 122nd Streets, Third to Pleasant Avenues that brought up-to-date zoning to East Harlem and was one of the first major rezonings of the Bloomberg Administration. 


The discussion will be led by Ethel Sheffer and George Janes, principals of their respective firms, and CB11 Zoning Task Force Chair, Lashawn Henry. 

Monday, July 9^th at 5:30 pm

The Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College

Second Floor Auditorium

2180 Third Avenue (at 119^th Street)

RSVP to the Community Board 11 Office by calling 212-831-8929


To learn more about the changes the 2003 rezoning brought to East Harlem,  please watch the 2010 video of an East Harlem walking tour led by land use planner Richard Bass.



East Harlem Walking Tour from Civitas Citizen on Vimeo.

Community Forum & Presentation on April 27

You are invited to a Community Presentation & Forum
The results are in!

In Winter 2011, CIVITAS and the NYU Wagner School administered a Community Engagement Survey to take stock of community views on neighborhood concerns and future needs of the Upper East Side and East Harlem.

We hope you will participate in the Community Presentation & Forum when we present the survey results addressing the following areas: Transportation, Land Use, Streetscape, and Environmental Quality

Wednesday, April 27, 2011
6-8pm
Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue (103rd street entrance)

RSVP required:
info@civitasnyc.org or 212-996-0745

For more information and project updates, visit: www.civitasnyc.org/publicneedssurvey <http://www.civitasnyc.org/publicneedssurvey>