New York & Tri-State + Retail | September 12, 2018

City Will Seek More As-of-Right Uses in SoHo, NoHo

The de Blasio administration plans to announce a rezoning effort in SoHo and NoHo this fall that will permit more as-of-right uses in these neighborhoods. Under the industrial zoning rules still in place for SoHo and parts of NoHo, ground-floor retail and residential apartments require special approval.

Crain’s New York Business reported that the Department of City Planning, working with Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Councilwoman Margaret Chin, plans to seek public input before drawing up specific proposals.

“Having zoning that doesn’t align with the predominant uses of a neighborhood puts a strain on residents, property owners, businesses and city agencies,” said the SoHo Broadway Initiative’s Mark Dicus.

Not all stakeholders would favor the rezoning, though. “We’re worried that real estate and large retail interests will take over the neighborhood from the pioneers and the newcomers who created the community,” the SoHo Alliance’s Sean Sweeney told Crain’s.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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