Tuesday, February 3, 2009

City rezoning a Bronx manufacturing area

From Crain's:

The Department of City Planning announced Monday that it will begin public review of the rezoning of the lower Grand Concourse in the South Bronx—signaling that the dormant industrial district is on track for a revival.

The proposed mixed-use zoning will bring residential development to the area for the first time and at the same time will preserve some existing manufacturing uses—and the jobs they support. The re-zoning, which has been two years in the making, has won widespread community backing.

“We are very supportive of this effort,” said Neil Pariser, senior vice president of South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp., a non profit dedicated to rejuvenating the neighborhood. “City Planning proved to be flexible by recognizing that it would not have been prudent to rezone the entire area, there were too many solid jobs.”

Currently the area is zoned for manufacturing, and is heavily dominated by auto-related businesses and warehouses. Twenty percent of the plots are either vacant or used for storage.

Under the rezoning some industrial areas will be retained. Manufacturing zoning would remain along the rail tracks and Deegan Expressway to the south.


Hmm, so I guess City Planning doesn't care about the 1700+ jobs at Willets Point. Probably because this isn't a developer-driven rezoning. And why no eminent domain here? I thought that was the only way to make a "vibrant mixed-use neighborhood" out of an old polluted industrial area.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nobody cares?
Where are the usual suspects, and their characteristic ire?

Anonymous said...

It's true...why can't they just show Willets a little TLC, provide necessary services, and allow it to fix itself? It's already been rezoned. If a landowner wants to sell to a developer at the higher value, he will do so. They shouldn't be forced to sell to the City at 1/4 the market rate.