Zoning initiatives, divide or unite? Anti-displacement struggles in Chinatown and the Lower East Side, New York City, 2002–2018

Abstract

ABSTRACT Rezoning is an instrument used to unleash potential economic developments. Although anyone can apply for amendments to the zoning map and the zoning text in New York City (NYC), rezoning is a coalitional effort that reflects class dynamics. This paper examines zoning coalitional practices inside Manhattan’s East Village, Chinatown, and the Lower East Side (LES) between 2002 and 2018. Recent literature highlights the impacts of rezoning and real estate growth coalitions on displacement, but it overlooks their linkages. The paper combines urban planners’ analytics on racialized rezoning with urban regime theorists’ framework on coalition formation to grasp such linkages. It argues that zoning initiatives constitute major turning points in coalition formation and coalition disintegration inside ethno-racial enclaves. Zoning initiatives begin with city producers and ethno-racial elites forming a growth coalition. When the shift from coalition formation to coalition disintegration occurs, the shift alters the scope of actions in zoning initiatives. Strategic disintegration was a response to ongoing anti-displacement struggles. Subsequently, city producers launched zoning initiatives in atomizing sub-districts within Chinatown and the LES. The paper concludes that Chinatown and the LES are witnessing a new coalition formation and pro-longed attempts to undermine anti-displacement struggles.