Directly across from Fort Tryon Park in Inwood, developers Washington Square Partners and Acadia Realty Trust are seeking a zoning variance which would allow them to build a long-planned mixed-use residential tower. The most recent version of the curving building, designed by Kenneth Park Architects, would rise 15 stories with approximately 350 rental units, and would be known as Sherman Plaza. The development would be the first built under Mayor de Blasio’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing rezoning plan, and would contain 150 units that are below market rate.
Despite the large number of subsidized units the building would provide, opponents have motivated the community to believe that introducing market-rate units would drive-up rent and fuel gentrification, displacing longtime residents with modest incomes. On Saturday, a few dozen locals gathered at the intersection of Sherman Avenue and Broadway to protest the rezoning, distributing flyers titled "Northern Manhattan is Not For Sale" and chanting, "Housing is a right."
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Aside from the fear of more affluent residents flooding the neighborhood, critics remain uncomfortable with the height of the building, despite it being scaled down to 15 stories from 23. Likening the project to Godzilla, opponents are wary that a new 175-foot building would obstruct views of, and from, Fort Tryon Park; and that the tower would be out of scale for a neighborhood with mostly low-rise walk-ups. However, one block to the southeast is a 12-story senior facility that rises 175 feet from the street to its rooftop bulkhead. Only a bit further southeast from the senior facility are a trio of high-rises, all towering more than 350-feet when accounting for the elevation of Fort George Hill, which is where they sit.
The district's local City Council member Ydanis Rodríguez appeared at the rally and remains undecided on the project, at least publicly, which has drawn ire from the project's opponents, many of whom greeted the councilman with a round of boos. The plan will come up for vote tomorrow morning by the City Council, and Rodríguez's vote will likely sway the council's decision.
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