December 15, 2021

Stroock Client Alert

By: Ross F. Moskowitz, John B. Egnatios-Beene, Raymond "Rusty" Pomeroy II, Ashley E. Doukas

Today, the City Council approved the modified SoHo/NoHo Rezoning. This is the final action by the City Council, and the rezoning is expected to go into effect in the next couple days. In this Client Alert, we summarize the key changes to the SoHo/NoHo Rezoning.

The key modifications affect the areas illustrated on the map below, and are as follows:

• Changes in Floor Area:
  • The Commercial FAR in most of the rezoning area will be 5.0.
  • In the Bowery Corridor mapped as M1-6/R10 and located in the north-east section of the rezoning, the Commercial FAR will be 7.0 and the Residential FAR will be 12.0.
  • In the Historic Corridors mapped as M1-5/R9X, the Residential FAR will be 8.5.
  • In the NoHo Historic Core mapped as M1-5/R7X and located in the north-east section of the rezoning, the residential FAR will be 6.0, and in the area located in the south-east section of the rezoning area, the residential FAR will be 5.6.
• There will be a Special Permit requirement for retail space larger than 10,000 sq. ft. on narrow streets, and 25,000 sq. ft. on wide streets.
• Food and beverage establishments as well as dormitory and university use will be subject to a cap of 8,500 sq. ft.
• The Mandatorily Inclusionary Housing program will apply except Option 2 has been removed, leaving only the deeper affordability options.

In addition to the modifications listed above, the City entered into a 22-item Points of Agreement, which includes a commitment to developing more affordable housing outside the SoHo/NoHo rezoning area (particularly on City-owned and federally-owned sites) and a framework for the Downtown SoHo/NoHo Arts Fund.

Source: https://therealdeal.com/2021/12/09/city-council-tweaks-soho-rezoning-assuring-its-passage/

While the Mayor has the authority to veto a City Council land use decision, it is well known that Mayor de Blasio is in full support of this rezoning and will not veto the City Council’s approval.

That said, there is strong opposition to the rezoning from certain groups, that may attempt to continue to battle the rezoning in the courts.

Previously, on December 9, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and Committee on Land Use voted to approve the SoHo rezoning, with modifications (to read about these hearings and modifications, click here).

On November 9, 2021 the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a public hearing on the SoHo/NoHo Rezoning (to read about the Subcommittee hearing, click here).

The City Planning Commission (“CPC”) approved the SoHo/NoHo Rezoning in October (to read about the CPC approval, click here, and the introduction of the SoHo/NoHo Rezoning, click here).

The Stroock Land Use, Zoning and Environmental Team will be diligently following this rezoning and we look forward to providing updates on land use and zoning actions during the next administration.

• New York Zoning and Land Use
• Real Estate