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The Bloomberg administration’s proposal to rezone 125th Street in Harlem cleared a major hurdle on Tuesday when the area’s three City Council members signed off on a compromise plan that would limit the height of new buildings, add moderately priced housing and provide financial aid to businesses displaced by the rezoning.The proposal was then approved by the Council’s Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee in a 10-to-1 vote. The agreement between the City Planning Commission and the council members, Inez E. Dickens, Robert Jackson and Melissa Mark-Viverito, virtually assures the plan’s passage by the full City Council later this month.
The rezoning of 24 blocks of Harlem, stretching from Broadway east to Second Avenue, and from 124th to 126th Street, centers on 125th Street — a cultural touchstone for African-Americans in the city and beyond. It has led to widespread opposition in the neighborhood because of concerns that it will change the character of the low-rise street and speed gentrification in the area, including forcing out long-term businesses and low-income residents.
But Councilwoman Dickens, who represents central Harlem, and who led what she and others involved described as contentious negotiations during the past three weeks, said on Tuesday that the agreement would provide sufficient protection for the neighborhood, which is among the poorest in the city.
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As long as they hold Opening Days in the new Yankee Stadium the
Yankees will be hard pressed to put on the show they did last night in
the final Opening Day in their soon-to-be-gone digs.
Granted, the pulsating 3-2 win over the Blue Jays in front of a
sold-out crowd of 55,112 is the first of 162 overall and there are 80
tilts remaining to get weepy about The Bronx Baseball Cathedral
closing. Yet, when Chien-Ming Wang, Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera
pitch brilliantly, Melky Cabrera makes two sensational catches and
sneaks a homer into the right field corner and Jason Giambi uses his
legs and arm to help win a game played with the red, white and blue
bunting hanging from the decks, it's very difficult to see it as just
another game. And if it needed anything else it was Joe Girardi's first
win as Yankees manager.
"It's awesome," Girardi said of the victory that was delayed a day
by rain but took only two hours and 31 minutes to complete. "I have
been looking forward to this day since I signed. You do all the
preparation and I saw it pay off. You saw a guy (Bobby Abreu) score
from first and you saw a guy (Johnny Damon) hit a triple. It was
unbelievable, you finally get to play for real."
TAMPA, Fla. — Alex Rodriguez called his off-season “the greatest opt-out in the history of baseball,” but he said it sheepishly, not proudly. Rodriguez used words like “chaotic” and “whacked out” to describe how he went from opting out of his last three years with the Yankees to eventually returning to them. April 1, 2008 -- While the Yankees and Blue Jays waited yesterday
for what was billed as the last Opening Day in Yankee Stadium, the
Rogers Centre - a domed venue - would have been available if Major
League Baseball had requested the date. When the game was called at
2:25 p.m., 80 minutes after the 1:05 scheduled start, more than one
Yankee pined for Canada.
"We will get through it but there a
couple of domes sitting empty right now," Johnny Damon said. "Is it
raining or snowing in Toronto? This easily could have been avoided."
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Speaker Christine C.
Quinn won approval of the controversial proposal from the City Council
by an unusually slim margin.
