Save The Bowery

To:  New York Department of City Planning

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To: New York City Council, New York Department of City Planning

PETITION TO REZONE THE BOWERY

We, as residents and shopkeepers who live and/or work in the vicinity of the Bowery, support the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors rezoning principles and respectfully request that the east side of the Bowery be rezoned utilizing BAN’s rezoning principles:

1. Preserve the Character of the Bowery by creating a Bowery Special District.

The Bowery has a rich, diverse, unique history and has always had an important role in the City of New York. Its history should be respected and preserved. T he Bowery is a convergence of low-rise, low-density communities that are protected by zoning to preserve context.


The City has recognized the historic significance of the Bowery by protecting the west side of the Bowery in the Special Little Italy District and the NoHo Historic District. T he East Village/Lower East Side Rezoning Plan will now protect the area just east of the Bowery. However, the east side of the Bowery itself has been left out of all these rezonings.


The east side of the Bowery should be rezoned to ensure that it is in context to the rest of the community -- the Special Little Italy District, the NoHo Historic District, and the East Village/Lower East Side. If the Bowery is not rezoned, the result will be a wall of out-of-scale, luxury development that will negatively impact these districts and undermine the goals of contextual zoning in the area.

2. Protect commercial districts by not upzoning this area.

The low-rise, affordable character of the Bowery will be destroyed if this area is upzoned. T he east side of the Bowery is already becoming gentrified with a growing number of massive, out-of-character, boutique hotels and upscale business establishments. Upzoning will encourage more luxury housing and more upscale businesses, displacing the Bowery Lighting, Restaurant and Jewelry Commercial Districts.

3. Create permanent affordable housing to protect Bowery residents.

New York City has always been home to residents of diverse income levels. T here are many low-and middle-income residents who live on the Bowery in tenements and single-occupancy hotels. These residents should be protected from harassment and displacement. In addition, permanent affordable housing should be created, perhaps using the 421-A program to insure that people of diverse income levels continue to call the Bowery home.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Save The Bowery Petition to New York Department of City Planning was created by Bowery Alliance of Neighbors and written by Anna Sawaryn (BAN62007@gmail.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.