Zoning initiatives, divide or unite? Anti-displacement struggles in Chinatown and the Lower East Side, New York City, 2002–2018

ABSTRACT

Rezoning is an instrument used to unleash potential economic developments. Although anyone can apply for amendments to the zoning map and the zoning text in New York City (NYC), rezoning is a coalitional effort that reflects class dynamics. This paper examines zoning coalitional practices inside Manhattan’s East Village, Chinatown, and the Lower East Side (LES) between 2002 and 2018. Recent literature highlights the impacts of rezoning and real estate growth coalitions on displacement, but it overlooks their linkages. The paper combines urban planners’ analytics on racialized rezoning with urban regime theorists’ framework on coalition formation to grasp such linkages. It argues that zoning initiatives constitute major turning points in coalition formation and coalition disintegration inside ethno-racial enclaves. Zoning initiatives begin with city producers and ethno-racial elites forming a growth coalition. When the shift from coalition formation to coalition disintegration occurs, the shift alters the scope of actions in zoning initiatives. Strategic disintegration was a response to ongoing anti-displacement struggles. Subsequently, city producers launched zoning initiatives in atomizing sub-districts within Chinatown and the LES. The paper concludes that Chinatown and the LES are witnessing a new coalition formation and pro-longed attempts to undermine anti-displacement struggles.

KEYWORDS:

• Urban regime
• rezoning
• ethno-racial elites
• Chinatown
• Lower East Side
• New York City

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my gratitude to Zishun Ning and Tom Hattori for their insightful comments, and to my partner Büşra Ferligül for her encouragement and guidance throughout the writing process of this article. This article was written and revised during the COVID-19 global pandemic. I am immensely thankful to my family, friends, and colleagues for their unwavering support during these challenging times. Special thanks to Serhan Siyahhan, Merve Altinoğlu, David Tieu, Josephine Lee, Juanita Diaz-Cotto, Gladys M. Jiménez-Muñoz, Kelvin A. Santiago-Valles, Nancy Appelbaum, Nurcan Ferligül, Ahmet Ferligül, Fengping Zhang, and Yang Yang. I am grateful to Sarah McCullough, Maxine Craig, Laura Grindstaff, Joy Connolly, Heather Hewett, Jovonne Bickerstaff, and Mona Rad for providing me with the opportunity to continue my research and writing at UC Davis. I also thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the author.

Notes

1 I adopt the terms “people of color” and “communities of color” because community organizers have used them in their literature from 2008 onward.

2 The 2000 Census showed that East Village’s income level ranged between $40,000 to 65,000. It was $10,000 to $35,000 for Chinatown and the LES. Income levels corresponded to racial demographic distribution. Asian and Latin Americans were the majority for the latter and white for the former.

3 City producers can be sexually ethno-racialized individuals. For example, the current NYC Mayor Eric Adams, an African American man, and Edith Hsu-Chen, an Asian American woman, the Manhattan Borough Director for City Planning. They are a part of the state intelligentsia and “organic” to real estate capital.

4 Philanthropy News Digest. “Chris Kui, Executive Director, Asian Americans for Equality: September 11 and the Economic Impact on Chinatown.” August 13, 2002.

5 The Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) calculation of the Area Median Income (AMI) included the wealthiest nearby counties of NYC. It is above local income levels.

6 Membership included Chinatown Tenant Union (affiliated with Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence or CAAAV), City Lore, CODA, Cooper Square Committee, Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association, Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association, the Tenement Museum, University Settlement, Village Independent Democrats, and EVCC itself.

7 East Village Community Coalition. “History.” Retrieved May 28, 2021 (https://evccnyc.org/about/)

8 The overlapping area included Bowery, Chrystie, Forsythe, and Eldridge Streets, between the northern limit of E Houston Street and the southern limit of Canal Street.

9 “Written Testimony on Draft Scope of Work for EIS.” Lower East Side Coalition for Accountable Zoning (LESCAZ). July 5, 2007, p.7.

10 Department of City Planning. Final Scope of Work: East Village/Lower East Side Rezoning Environmental Impact Statement. Table 1–5.

11 Jennifer 8. Lee. “Lower East Siders Deliver Petition Against Re-Zoning Plan.” July 15, 2008 New York Time.

12 New York City Council. “Attachment 1. Hearing Testimony – Zoning 11/12/08,” in “Application no. N 080398 (A) ZRM.” Retrieved December 23, 2021 (http://legistar.council.nyc.gov)

13 February 3, 2009. 華埠工作组成立8小組. 首次土改會議2/10舉行. 星岛曰报.

14 In 2015, Silver was found guilty on seven counts of corruption, including honest services fraud, money laundering and extortion. He died in prison in 2022.

15 December 2, 2008. 關注華埠土改及发展前景. 華埠工作小组出席者踴躍. 星島曰报.; May 5, 2009. 華埠工作小組獲3萬元撥款. 星岛曰报.

16 February 11, 2009. 房屋政策忽略第二代. 華埠新土改中低收入兼收. 星岛曰报; March 13, 2009: 土改, 可負擔小組意見不同. 華埠可負擔購屋激烈議論. 星島曰报.

17 October 16, 2009. 反血汗工廠成員到場示威。華埠工作組會議關鍵在住房. 星島曰报.

18 Coalition to Protect Chinatown and Lower East Side. “Latino and Chinese Working Families Announce Plans for the Rezoning of the Lower East Side and Chinatown.” January 19, 2010.

19 Coalition To Protect Chinatown And The Lower East Side. “Proposal For A Chinatown/Lower East Side Special Zoning District.” Retrieved January 6, 2022 (http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/ccpd/repository/files/rezoning-proposal-10_25_10final-draft.pdf)

20 Two Bridges Neighborhood Planning Council. “Outline for a Chinatown/Lower East Side Plan,” p. 7. On file with author.

21 Two Bridges Neighborhood Planning Council. “Outline for a Chinatown/Lower East Side Plan,” p. 4. On file with author.

22 Chinatown Working Group. “CAPZ Agreement.” November 7, 2011

23 NYC Department of City Planning. “SoHo/NoHo Neighborhood Plan.”