City Council speaker unveils East Harlem rezoning report

City Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito released a 138-page report Thursday on the planned rezoning of East Harlem, providing insight into community concerns about the de Blasio administration’s proposal for the neighborhood.

The City Council speaker, alongside Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer and East Harlem’s local community board, began the study shortly after Mayor de Blasio’s announcement last year that he intends to rezone East Harlem as part of his ambitious affordable housing agenda.

The 138-page report features input from months of public forums and workshops focused around issues like housing preservation and transportation, according to Crain’s. It includes recommendations specific to zoning, such as the goal of 100 percent affordable housing on city-owned sites in East Harlem.

The report also recommends that half of the new housing developed in the neighborhood, as part of the rezoning, should be affordable to moderate and low-income people — with 20 percent designated for “extremely low” income households.

The concerns somewhat mirror those among community groups in East New York, the first neighborhood proposed for rezoning by the de Blasio administration. The City Planning Commission approved the city’s plan to rezone East New York yesterday, with the measure now subject to City Council approval this spring. [Crain’s] – Rey Mashayekhi