Whose neighborhood is it?  This is the question that has divided the Lower East Side for at least the past 40 years and has stymied the development of the most valuable piece of land New York City owns. Last night, community activists struggling to reach a consensus on the future of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area finally confronted the thorny issue head on. While the discussion was mostly civil, it also exposed the deep ethnic and class divisions which are a fact of life in this gentrifying community.

The members of Community Board 3′s SPURA task force met in the Henry Street Settlement’s gymnasium with the intention of finalizing redevelopment guidelines for the 7-acre site, most of which was bulldozed in the name of urban renewal in 1967. Generally speaking, the proposal calls for building a mixed use/mixed income community on several blocks adjacent to the Williamsburg Bridge.  Retail, including “medium-box” stores and perhaps a movie theater or grocery store, would make up 40% of the project. 60% would be given over to low, middle and market rate housing. Around two-acres would be set aside for open space. Continue reading SPURA Panel Deadlocked on Housing