Inwood Rezoning Project Reference Guide

Housing

• The City will build 925 new affordable apartments on public land (Inwood Library, 4095 Ninth Ave, and Dyckman Houses).
  • The City will also begin the process of moving the DOT Bridge Repair facility to make the site available for affordable housing
  • The City will study the potential of the DSNY Community District 8 garage for consolidation of City facilities to make other land available for affordable housing
  • The City will work on an Educational Construction Fund development project on the IS 52 schoolyard on Vermilyea Avenue that would include housing and recreation space
• The City will work to finance 1000 new affordable apartments on private land
• There will be an estimate 675 additional affordable units created via Mandatory Inclusionary Housing
• The City will work to preserve or protect at least 2,500 homes
• Supporting Inwood tenants in 10034 and 10040 by providing access to free legal services to all low-income households facing eviction in Housing Court
• Partners in Preservation will be launched in Inwood to protect rent-stabilized tenants, with $500,000 in City funding
• Inwood tenants will continue to receive free legal services and support from the Tenant Support Unit, which since July 2015 has knocked on over 31,800 doors and assisted over 2,500 tenants in the area.
• New Support for the Underserved (SUS) Homebase Office in Washington Heights
• The Certification of No Harassment Program will be piloted in Inwood to discourage tenant harassment
• Pilot a Landlord Ambassadors Program to provide technical assistance to Inwood property owners to promote affordable housing programs and help manage their properties
• HPD is prioritizing the renovation of two vacant City-owned buildings at 2110 Amsterdam and 21 Arden Street, in partnership with Community League of the Heights (CLOTH) and the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC), respectively.

Culture

• New immigration-oriented research and performing arts center with a total footprint of 15,000 square feet. The site shall include a performing arts space designed to allow for flexibility of programming and staging of performances in a variety of settings, as well as storage, dressing rooms, lobby, classroom, and rehearsal space. The center shall also include a space operated by the New York Public Library for members of the public and academics to research and discuss historical and contemporary materials related to the immigrant experience.
• Technical assistance to Upper Manhattan cultural organizations, ensuring that leadership of these organizations have the skills and capacities to successfully meet the demands of running a performing art center

Economic Development and Workforce Development

• New tech incubator and training center at 4095 Ninth Avenue directly modeled after what has been proposed for Union Square, which will offer the following:
  • Staffed Community Space available for education, training, and events focused on STEM and other high growth industries.
  • Entrepreneurship Services offering resources, support staff, equipment and tools for local individual users, groups and small businesses.
  • Programming delivered by training providers, industry partners and local institutions.
  • Cross Sector Partnerships and Industry Collaborations with academia, workforce and small business providers, employers and corporations.
• New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (NYACH) will continue the City’s partnership with New York Presbyterian Hospital to develop healthcare training programs, prioritized for Washington Heights and Inwood residents, to access careers in healthcare. NYACH training programs will help New York Presbyterian fulfill its commitment to hire local residents from Washington Heights and Inwood.
• NYCx Co-Lab in Inwood. Co- Labs combines technology piloting and education in high-need, high-opportunity neighborhoods by connecting local residents, government, academia, and tech entrepreneurs to identify, co-develop, and test innovative solutions that address the neighborhood’s most pressing needs.
• Certificate programs for Safe Serve and Home Health Aide at the Activities, Culture, and Training (ACTS) Center in The Eliza development
• Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ) will provide capital to Inwood businesses. UMEZ offers capital access to qualifying small businesses in Upper Manhattan seeking term loans between $50,000 and $250,000 and Lines of Credit between $25,000 and $100,000. UMEZ will conduct outreach to Inwood area businesses.
• Inwood pilot retail incentive program will also be formulated by UMEZ to assist, through convertible loans, certain existing Inwood retail small businesses that relocate within Community District 12 with the purpose of continuing to operate
• HPD will require long-term commercial leases (minimum of 10 years with limited rental increases) for any mixed-use new construction project in the Inwood rezoning area receiving $2 million or more in HPD subsidy. The requirement will apply to the lesser of 5,000 square feet or 25 percent of the total non-residential floor area.