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On Monday, August 23, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer conducted a public hearing as part of her Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) assessment of the SoHo/NoHo Neighborhood Plan proposal. As an introduction to the hearing, the Borough President presented an opening panel consisting of stakeholders, advocates, and experts to discuss the proposed plan – raising perspectives on the public realm, commercial development, affordable housing, arts and culture, historic preservation, and tenant protections as they relate to the rezoning and the future of SoHo/NoHo.
SoHo Broadway Initiative Executive Director Mark Dicus was honored to be included among the panelists and shared the Initiative’s position and recommendations. Reflecting the Initiative’s Board-approved planning goals, Mark’s comments addressed the importance of protecting neighborhood character, addressing quality-of-life issues such as garbage, deliveries and lighting, as well as the need to facilitate retail and residential uses.
Mark also submitted the Initiative’s testimony in regard to the proposal to the Borough President, which outlines our approach to the issues above in addition to others and can be read in full here. Our recommendations for an alternative approach in regard to height and bulk along Broadway in the context of the existing urban fabric of the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District were developed through careful analysis working with PKSB Architects, who prepared a SoHo-NoHo Rezoning Impact Study for the SoHo Broadway corridor.
The City Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing for the SoHo/NoHo rezoning proposal on Thursday, 9/2 at 10 a.m. The hearing will be held both on Zoom and in-person at the NYC Planning Commission Hearing Room, Lower Concourse, 120 Broadway, New York, NY. Details on the meeting including Zoom link will be posted here.
Given the diversity of the perspectives among our constituents, the Initiative has worked diligently to propose changes that better align with the planning goals that our residential and commercial stakeholders have approved. The Initiative is hopeful that City officials will take these recommendations under consideration to improve the proposal as the ULURP process continues.
