In the Zone?

Soho/Noho is attempting to go through a ULURP in order to accommodate contemporary MIH (Mandatory Inclusionary Housing) standards for affordable housing. Many preservationists, however, are concerned that the rezoning might disrupt the neighborhood’s historic architecture, or kill its (once authentic, now completely corporate) artists’ culture. But the reality is that Soho has become a squeezed carnival of tourists, shopping and more shopping, and high-end pop art that can only be purchased with a bag of cocaine. Within its cast iron buildings, residents sleep in million dollar shoe boxes. A discussion at the Center for Architecture called Adapting Historic Districts For An Equitbale Future: SOHO/NOHO Case Study rightly did not fetishize historic architecture, or even its lost culture. Instead, it centered around the priority of affordable housing, and a more analytic perspective on why people might be so opposed to new development. “We live in a society where we have left everything up to the market and the divide is extreme. We must respect people’s suspicions,” said Vishan Chakrabarti. But when it comes to the distribution of infrastructural resources and affordability, “We need equal sacrifice,” said Pratt professor of real estate, Jerrod Delaine. Although we must “acknowledge the history of the creative community,” said urbanist Justin Garrett Moore, the existing zoning is a problem, and it’s possible that people grabbing onto the historic nature signifies concerns for uncertain futures. How ironic. Sidebar: I went to high school in this neighborhood. Want my personal two cents? Don’t question it — rezone it.