Harlem zoning reboot slow but successful

One of City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden‘s first rezonings, the 44-block stretch from 110th to 124th Streets and Morningside Park to Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, has had mixed results, the New York Times reported.

While the business strip along Frederick Douglass Boulevard has seen an influx of stores — such as Patisserie des Ambassades, a West African bakery, Levain, a cookie shop and Lido, an Italian restaurant — of late, a number of chain stores have also come to the area.

The rezonings has had its fits and starts, as condominium projects in the area dropped off dramatically during the financial crisis. But the pace is picking up again, and residents are optimistic, the Times said.

“Harlem was oversold and underdelivered,” said Marva Allen, the manager at Hue-Man Bookstore, at 2319 Frederick Douglass.

But new development is now flourishing, even though its effects are slow to fully show. “Now, there are 15 buildings that are ready for sales,” said Kelley Lassman, an associate professor of education at Pace University. [NYT]