EAST HARLEM CANNOT AFFORD REZONING In 2003, substantial zoning changes were imposed on East Harlem. We now the results: more than 17,000 residential dwelling units have been developed, all in buildings that are now allowed to reach 12 stories rather than the pre-2003 height limitation of five stories. East Harlem long-time 5-story buildings have been emptied and demolished. These newer, taller buildings have apartments that are too expensive for those who earn less than $45,000 per year. The median income in East Harlem is $30,227. Current East Harlem residents cannot afford to live in the new buildings! see Moreover, since that2003 zoning change, the Hispanic population has fallen by 9Yo, while the Black population has gone down by ll%. These families have been forced to move out of East Harlem because of the increasingly higher market rate rents of the new constructed high rises. Many older buildings are now empty with units warehoused awaiting the disposition of the Mayor's future plan for East Harlem. The new 17,000 residential units have been developed for higher income households earning more than actual . longtime residents increasing the community median income today to $30,227 which is 35o/o more (only on paper) than it was in 2003, while 55o/o ofBast Harlem residents are now rent burdened with rents which have increased 49%. Unfortunately, since 2003,3to/o of neighborhood residents are now living in poverty. The upshot: the 2003 zoningchanges unleashed a building boom that has not made anything better for the poorer sectors of our community. Instead, it has made abad situation worse by increasing displacement pressure against the lower income households. Higher income people are moving in and lower income people are being displaced. Everybody knows this. It is not a secret. The Regional Planning Association has substantiated our fears in their recently published report 'Affordable Housing in East Harlem'. Now the Mayor is considering a much higher zoning allowance to rebuild up to 35 stories in East Harlem to create additional housing for a higher income population. This will destroy the social, cultural and political history of El Barrio. The taller buildings will cut down the available sunlight able to reach the street sidewalks. It will create shadows and dark pathways depriving residents of vital Vitamin D and limiting photosynthetic energy for park trees and grass. This overbuilding scale will encroach into every individual's space creating a bleak metropolis for its citizens, stack into ryasdrve residential towers with no green respite anywhere. The Mayor's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Plan is being marketed as a justification for this despicable rezoning. Ironically, this plan "excludes" households earning less than $30,000.00 (or 44o/o of the actual community affected). So, the phrase "Affordable Housing" is a misnomer in this instance in this plan. It is an outright scam. It is a plan to displace the current residents out of their affordable apartments and out of their affordable community simply because they are poor. No plan benefit is being offered by this City plan to the poor families of East Harlem earning less than $ 30,000. These poor families make up 44%o of the current population. What we really need is a plan to protect rent-stabilized units and to build human-scale in-fill buildings that are I00% affordable. Why isn't the Mayor proposing that? The new development projects proposed under this city plan will rely on massive public financing of approximately 48 billion dollars (citywide) utilizing 25-year Tax Abatements that will deprive the city of necessary moneys to pay for shrinking city services while also utilizing Tax Credits which serves effectively:--s tax shelters for the rich, who again will deprive the government of necessary revenue to pay for programming and services that poorer residents rely on. This Rezoning Plan offers nothing to the poor community oI-----East Harlem but a continued increase of displacement pressure with an economy of shrinking housing opportunities. Our elected officials have revealed themselves as powerless against the Real Estate lobby of New York, for it is only big developers who will ultimately benefit from the rezoning proposal. We are now witnessing a city proposal administrated by planners and real estate spezulators who are intent on building talI luxury buildings and displacing low income families from East Harlem. It is time for this madness to be stopped in its tracks. Where are the poor folks of East Harlem expected to go? This issue requires a new paradigm for our city's housing policy, one that offers more than a misguided attempt to manipulate the price of poor people's housing by flooding the market with richer peoples' housing. Join El Barrio Unite and sign the community Petition to Stop the Rezoning of East Harlem. You can access the Petition to sign at: http //www : . e lb arri ounite . or g/e I -b arri to - stop -the-rezonin o -un it e/p etiti on - g- o f- east- harl Written by Roger Hernandez Jr. on December 02,2016 em/