East Harlem Residents Claim De Blasio's Rezoning Plan Promotes Gentrification
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to rezone East Harlem, which would include more highrises, doesn't sit well with many residents in the neighborhood.
De Blasio says it will fulfill his promise of creating and preserving 200,000 units of affordable housing, but several people at a Thursday town hall said it's really about gentrifying the neighborhood.
"Affordable housing is nothing for people who have low income, right? It's for people who have middle income," one woman from the Justice Center en El Barrio said. "So we say no to racist rezoning."
The group doesn't understand how the mayor could support aid to Puerto Rico, yet push a proposal they say can price out Puerto Ricans in New York and other minorities that live in the area.
"If that makes you feel good to say that and not look at the facts, God bless you," the woman told WCBS 880's Myles Miller.