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Harlem fights rezoning plan

March 31, 2008

Scores of people attended a town hall meeting in Harlem on Saturday, vowing to fight a massive rezoning proposal that locals fear could displace them and alter the neighborhood’s historical character forever.

“This is a takeover,” said Sikhulu Shange, the owner of a 125th Street record store. “This is theft. This is highway robbery. … If we don’t fight to win, this will be the end of an era.” Shange was one of several speakers who attended the rally to denounce the city’s rezoning plan that could change dozens of blocks on 124th, 125th and 126th

streets. The plan calls for creating condominiums, performing art space, hotels and a high-rise office tower. City officials say the proposal will halt unregulated development in the area. But Shange and other local leaders believe the city is trying to co-opt their community and obliterate this famous bastion of black history.

“People want to take our beloved Harlem from us,” said Monique Ndigo Washington, a human rights activist who moderated the town hall meeting. The event was organized by The Coalition to Save Harlem.
Source: AP

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Written by NY Politics · Filed Under Real-estate 

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