March 3, 2026
The City Council Is At It Again!
Roadway dining sheds emerged during Covid to aid struggling restaurants. Great idea.
Restaurants also received $5.5 billion in grants and (forgiven) loans during the pandemic. No other industry was treated as generously as this.
However, once the crisis was over, many neighborhoods, mostly those in Downtown Manhattan – which has more of these roadway sheds than the rest of the city combined – were stuck with the problems these sheds created:
· noisy patrons under residents’ windows until 12:00 midnight, every night
· congested sidewalks
· litter
· rats and vermin
· obstruction of Fire Department and EMS vehicles, etc.
The restaurant lobby is one of the most powerful in the city. When the pandemic ended and things returned to normal, restaurant lobbyists persuaded the politicians to retain this “emergency” program indefinitely. No other industry expropriates our public space for its own use.
Community groups formed to reclaim our streets.
In a 2024 compromise, the City Council generously handed over our streets to the restaurant industry for eight months a year: April 1 through November 29.
This decision involved a long and deliberative legislative process in which many interests were consulted and opinions weighed – and the seasonal program was the result.
But the greed of the restaurant lobby knows no bounds.
Councilmember Lincoln Restler — who doesn’t have a single one of these rat shacks on his tree-lined block in chi-chi Brooklyn Heights but hypocritically wants them on yours — has introduced two bills to permit these structures for the entire year, even in the dead of winter. It makes no sense.
Look outside. Our streets are covered with snow and ice. How will they be plowed and swept after snow storms with these sheds blocking the snow plows?
There is no reason to replace the current balanced compromise with this new permanent year-round program.
Additionally, the proposed legislation, Intro 0655-2026, will allow restaurants to extend their sidewalk and roadway cafes beyond their own frontage onto neighboring businesses, as well as reducing the role of our community boards in the licensing process.
Another bill, Intro 0628-2026, would establish a drop-in office where restaurant owners can receive city help to file their outdoor dining applications — an office that will provide no such service to beleaguered residents who live near noncompliant restaurants.
No other industry has been as greedy and demanding as the so-called “hospitality industry.” Enough is enough.
Let the City Council know this is not what we want.
On Tuesday, March 3 at 10:00 am at 250 Broadway, 8th floor, Room #1, the City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing whether to extend these dining sheds onto our streets year round.
You can attend in person or on Zoom.
If attendance is not possible, then at least submit written testimony against this piece of ill-conceived legislation. It will likely be the only time that our City Council will give you an opportunity to protest this bill.
You can sign up to testify here.
· choose whether you will be testifying in person or via zoom.
· then sign up for March 3, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
If you cannot attend, you can submit your written testimony up to 72 hours after the hearing has closed here. Please do so.
And for extra credit, you can send your testimony to Councilmember Christopher Marte at District1@council.nyc.gov
This proposed legislation is also backed by Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Siegel. Please send your testimony in opposition to him at info@manhattanbp.nyc.gov
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February 16, 2026
Where Did All Our Mailboxes Go? / SoHo Needs You! / Zoning Fail
Where Did Our Mailboxes Go?
And what you can do to bring them back.
At a January meeting that the SoHo Alliance sponsored with SoHo residents and Congressman Dan Goldman, one of the questions raised was the absence of USPS street mailboxes. The postal service has removed them because thieves were pilfering from the old-style boxes. SoHo used to have its very own post office. Now we don’t even have a single mailbox.
One solution was to narrow the slot to prevent thieves “fishing” for mail using a glue board and string. This worked for a while but thieves adjusted by robbing mail carriers of their mailbox keys.
Congressman Goldman explained the USPS is now exploring biometric solutions to open the mailboxes that would distinguish postal workers from the thieves.
Concurrently, Community Board 2 is compiling a list of sites where mailboxes have been removed. Having this information will be helpful when the USPS eventually installs the new high-tech mailboxes. Answer the short survey here to add a location and reclaim our mail service.
SoHo Needs You!
Talking about the community board, applications to join Community Board 2 are now open through Friday, February 27.
Community boards enable citizens like you to represent our neighborhood, advising the City on local issues: public safety and quality of life, park funding, land use and zoning, landmarking, budget priorities, liquor and cannabis licenses, and traffic and transportation issues.
Service requires attending two or three evening meetings a month, to hear and vote on the issues that affect our community. If you want to help determine the future development of your neighborhood and join a band of like-minded people, apply here.
SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Continues to Fail
When the City Council approved the SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown rezoning at the end of 2021, the party line was that it would bring hundreds of affordable housing units, coupled with contextual height and bulk limits, as well as “economic and racial justice”.
It has strikingly failed, with savvy developers employing various loopholes to skirt the law.
As a result, there has been a net loss of housing, as buildings that once accommodated artists or legal residents are seeing these folk displaced and their units turned into luxury suites.
For example, 43 Bleecker Street in NoHo is being converted from loft-tenant usage to 100% luxury apartments without a single unit of affordable housing being built, as the rezoning requires. How?
Via a loophole by which the developer pays a fee into a fund for housing construction in the outer boroughs, rather than setting aside affordable apartments in the building itself in the upscale NoHo district. So much for economic and racial justice.
Likewise, 142 Greene Street, a large six-story building which formerly housed several AIR residents, has seen them displaced and is currently being converted into a single home for the wealthy founder of What’s App.
Continuing this course, last week developers for three different megaprojects in NoHo presented their plans to the community board’s Landmarks Committee for buildings wildly out of context for this historic district.
The most egregious is 375 Lafayette Street at the northeast corner of Great Jones Street in the NoHo Historic District. Currently an Edison parking lot, the site takes up 50% of the length of Great Jones Street.
The massive 19-story structure will be 195 feet tall, dwarfing neighboring low-rise historic buildings. It will contain some 200 apartments, only about 50 of which will be “affordable”.
True to form, the developers are exercising yet another shifty loophole.
In exchange for the decades of property tax exemptions that the project will receive, the law requires the developer to pay its workers the “prevailing wage”. That means current union wages for both union and non-union workers, as well as overtime and employee benefits like insurance and pensions.
To evade this law — which only applies to projects with 100 or more apartments, like this one — the crafty developer is constructing two buildings of 99 units each, avoiding the requirement to provide a fair wage. Sly.
No fair wages; no benefits. More money for the developers; less money for the workers. Yet another failure of a rezoning that was supposed to bring “economic justice”.
What can you do? Contact Historic NoHo at HistoricNoho@gmail.com. They will provide you additional information on how to stop this ill-conceived project.
Visit Village Preservation’s website which has more details on the three megaprojects in NoHo and a link to submit opposition to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Rally to Save a Landmark Building & Affordable Housing
At 139 Thompson Street in the recently landmarked Sullivan Thompson Historic District — the ten blocks between West Broadway and Sixth Avenue from Houston Street to Watts Street — the owner has applied to the Landmarks Preservation Commission to demolish the 1875 tenement with its 19 residential units — 12 of which are rent stabilized (affordable) — and replace it with six large and vastly more expensive luxury apartments.
Join Councilmember Christopher Marte, Village Preservation and the SoHo Alliance this Friday, February 20, at 1:00 pm to rally in front of 139 Thompson just below Houston Street.
Tell Mayor Mamdani and the Landmarks Preservation Commission here to reject the application to demolish the building, thus preserving our community’s heritage and affordable housing stock.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS.
January 21, 2026
You’re Invited!
You’re cordially invited to an Open House I am hosting at my loft this Saturday afternoon to meet and greet SoHo’s congressman, Dan Goldman.
It is not a fundraiser. Rather it will be a casual meet-and-greet: an opportunity to mingle with the congressman, ask questions on the state of the nation and the world, as well raise any local issues or concerns you might have.
Assemblymember Grace Lee, who represents a portion of southeastern SoHo, will also be joining us.
Space will be limited, so RSVP now to chris@dangoldmanforny.com
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS.
January 18, 2026
‘Arts Fund’ Ruling: How to Proceed
The Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, last Wednesday ruled against the Appellate Division’s 2024 decision on the lawsuit filed by our neighbors at the Coalition for Fairness in SoHo & NoHo which had overturned the extortionate “Arts Fund” fee of the 2021 SoHo/NoHo rezoning.
The fee is a charge of $110/square-foot to convert from Joint Live-Work Quarters for Artists (JLWQA, aka AIR) to straight residential use in certain buildings in SoHo and NoHo.
For example, the fee for a 2,500-square-foot unit would be $275,000 and $550,000 for a 5,000-square-foot space.
There are a couple of reports that some prospective non-artist buyers of units with an existing JLWQA Certificate of Occupancy are utilizing the prospect of this huge fee to leverage a massive reduction in the asking price from sellers.
The SoHo Alliance has been asked what this court decision will mean in practical terms. In a word: nothing.
First, not all buildings are subject to this “Arts Fund” fee. Most are not.
Co-ops and condos that went through the IMD (Interim multiple Dwelling) process to convert to JLWQA from the old manufacturing once common here are exempt. The Coalition has a list of such buildings and they are many.
Also, the 17 or so buildings constructed after 2004 under Section 74-712 of Zoning Resolution are exempt.
In the 55 years since the original JLWQA zoning was established, not a single non-artist has ever been evicted or dispossessed for failure to conform to a Certificate of Occupancy requiring artists certification.
After much research, we found one person without artists certification who, back in the 1970s, received a violation for residing in a JLWQA unit – and that complaint was filed by his landlord who wanted him out. Nevertheless, he is still residing here with impunity a half century later.
We did hear of a couple of instances of the Department of Buildings not issuing a final Certificate of Occupancy to some buildings with a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy that had converted from manufacturing use and which had some tenants lacking artists certification.
The solution these buildings employed was simple, harmless and effective: just renew the Temporary Certificate of Occupancy at the cost of a mere hundred dollars or so when it expires. The city will go along with that.
Most noteworthy, under the new SoHo/NoHo rezoning, there are no fines listed for failing to convert from JLWQA use to residential use.
Such violations would fall under existing citywide fee structures enforced by the Buildings Department – not the Department of City Planning, which created the iniquitous fee.
We hear that not everyone in the Buildings Department is keen on enforcing this unfair charge.
The Buildings Department exists to ensure that buildings and construction activity in the city are safe, lawful, and in compliance with building and zoning rules — it is NOT to extort residents or drive them from their homes!
Also, this conversion fee was concocted two administrations ago, under de Blasio. It is unknown if the current administration will even bother to pursue it. New administrations very often fail to enforce initiatives from past administrations
As we said, the fee is about $275,000 for a 2,500-square-foot unit and $550,000 for a 5,000-square-foot space.
On the other hand, the penalty under the Administrative Code for violation of a Certificate of Occupancy is just $1,250 – a far cry from half a million dollars.
Remember, thousands and thousands of non-artists have resided here for decades contrary to the 1971 artist-only requirement, and – after extensive research – we could not find a single one that has encountered any major problem.
We see nothing to suggest that this new zoning will change that reality.
Thus it would seem better for people who might feel forced to pay a conversion fee to simply ignore it.
In the unlikely chance of a violation from the Buildings Department, just pay the small $1,250 penalty as it does with any violation from the city and move on. Problem solved.
Sellers should not be intimated or coerced by buyers seeking a gargantuan price break on the sale.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS.
January 4, 2026
January Community Board Items for SoHo
This month we are alerting you to several items on the monthly Community Board 2 calendar that might affect you or your block.
Generally, you can attend these committee hearings in person, via Zoom, or submit written testimony.
You can visit Community Board 2’s webpage and click on the Calendar button to get a list of all the various applications that the community board will hear this month.
Staying informed and active is the best way to preemptively ensure our quality of life.
Below are the applications affecting SoHo and which might affect you.
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Street Activities Committee:
Monday, January 5 @ 6:30 pm
- Discussion with the Department of Sanitation concerning its new initiatives, including Empire Bins, as well as various new enforcement and regulatory matters
- Applications for full or partial street or sidewalk closures:
• January 15 – Turbotax Launch Event @ SoHo Lofts (Sponsor: All Terrain Collective)
• 1) Broadway between Broome & Grand [partial sidewalk closure-west side]
• 2) Grand Street between Broadway & Mercer [partial sidewalk closure-north side]
• 3) Broadway between Broome & Grand [curb lane closure only-west side]
• 4) Grand Street betweenBroadway & Mercer [curb lane closure only-north side
• 5) Mercer Street betweenBroome & Grand [curb lane closure only-east side] • January 15 through January 16 – LEXA GATES x IAM ACTIVATION 3P5 (Sponsor: 6Degrees Films)
• Wooster Street between Canal & Grand [southwest & curb lane closure-west side]
• In person at the CB2 District Office, 3 Washington Square Village (near Bleecker & LaGuardia – Map), with option to attend remotely via Zoom. Seating is limited. Registration is required to ensure there is adequate space.• Register to attend in person by clicking here.
• Register to join the Zoom meeting by clicking here.
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State Liquor Authority Licensing Committee
Tuesday, January 6 @ 6:30 pm
Attention: Crosby/Howard Street residents:
In-person only at Northwell Greenwich Village Hospital, 200 West 13th Street, west of 7th Avenue Map)
Written testimony can be submitted to: info@manhattancb2.org before 5:00pm on the day of the meeting.
Visit CB2 Manhattan’s online calendar for agenda updates by clicking here.
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Outdoor Dining Working Group
Tuesday, January 13 @ 6:30 pm
Applications for Roadway Sheds and/or Sidewalk Cafes:
- *Flippers NYC LLC dba Flippers, 337 West Broadway, 10013 (Sidewalk cafe)
In person at the CB2 Office, 3 Washington Square Village (at Bleecker near LaGuardia – Map)
Option to attend remotely via Zoom.
Seating is limited in the Conference Room. Registration is required to ensure there is adequate space.PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS.
December 21, 2025
Help Us Help You!
Whether a SoHo renter or owner, your quality-of-life is paramount.
For over forty years, the SoHo Alliance has been the preeminent organization striving to maintain the character and integrity of our community.
We owe this success foremost to the volunteers who take the time and effort to mobilize their neighbors, attend community board meetings, organize and join rallies, engage the media, lobby our elected officials, sign petitions, write letters and postcards, and otherwise participate in direct civic activism.
But the Alliance has basic obligations and needs that have to be met: maintaining a website and active phone line, having funds on hand to quickly hire lawyers or consultants when an emergency arises, meeting operating costs, purchasing equipment and supplies, and supporting ad hoc community organizations.
This is where you can help. When you help us, you help yourself. Please contribute to our once-a-year appeal.
Click here to donate by credit/debit card or Paypal.
Or mail your check to:
SoHo Alliance
PO Box 429
New York, NY 10012
December 17, 2025
Great Deal at New NYU Gym
It’s a bit of a secret but that new NYU building on Houston and Mercer Streets, the Paulson Center, has a huge state-of-the-art gym available for local residents’ use for less than $10 a visit.
Many people make New Year resolutions to join a gym. Here is an opportunity nearby to do that at a very reasonable price. The cost is $55 for six visits or $110 for twelve, with no membership fee.
Membership is open to anyone residing within Community Board 2, which extends from Canal Street to 14th Street, from the Bowery to the Hudson River.
The facility has a
- Pool: 25-yard, six-lane swimming pool
- Cardio room with cardio and strength equipment and machines, as well as free weights
- Multi-purpose room for stretching or individual workouts
- Jogging track: Two-lane track for jogging and practicing drills
Academic Year (September – mid-May):
Saturday-Sunday 9:00am – 2:00pm
Summer (mid May – August):
Thursday: 5:00pm – 8:00pm
Friday: 12:00pm – 8:00pm
Sat.-Sun.: 9:00am – 5:00pm
As an added benefit, community members can also use the NYU 404 Fitness Facility at 404 Lafayette Street near East 4th Street, which has extensive array of free weights and machines, as well as cardio machines and stretching areas.
Farther uptown on 14th Street, the NYU Palladium Athletic Facility also has community membership with an eight-lane pool, rock-climbing wall, weight room, and aerobic fitness and spin rooms.
To apply for membership, go to the 404 Fitness Center with a ID showing your local address. For more information, call there at 212-998-2020.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS.
This month we are alerting you to several items on the monthly Community Board 2 calendar that might affect you or your block.
Generally, you can attend these committee hearings in person, via Zoom, or submit written testimony.
You can visit Community Board 2’s webpage and click on the Calendar button to get a list of all the various applications that the community board will hear this month.
Staying informed and active is the best way to preemptively ensure our quality of life.
Below are the applications affecting SoHo and which might affect you.
******************************************************************
Street Activities Committee:
Monday, January 5 @ 6:30 pm
1. Discussion with the Department of Sanitation concerning its new initiatives, including Empire Bins, as well as various new enforcement and regulatory matters.
2. Applications for full or partial street or sidewalk closures:
• January 15 – Turbotax Launch Event @ SoHo Lofts (Sponsor: All Terrain Collective)
• 1) Broadway between Broome & Grand [partial sidewalk closure-west side]
• 2) Grand Street between Broadway & Mercer [partial sidewalk closure-north side]
• 3) Broadway between Broome & Grand [curb lane closure only-west side]
• 4) Grand Street between
• 5) Mercer Street between
• January 15 through January 16 – LEXA GATES x IAM ACTIVATION 3P5 (Sponsor: 6Degrees Films)
• Wooster Street between Canal & Grand [southwest & curb lane closure-west side]
• In person at the CB2 District Office, 3 Washington Square Village (near Bleecker & LaGuardia – Map), with option to attend remotely via Zoom. Seating is limited. Registration is required to ensure there is adequate space.
• Register to attend in person by clicking here.
• Register to join the Zoom meeting by clicking here.
******************************************************************
State Liquor Authority Licensing Committee
Tuesday, January 6 @ 6:30 pm
Attention: Crosby/Howard Street residents:
In-person only at Northwell Greenwich Village Hospital, 200 West 13th Street, west of 7th Avenue Map)
Written testimony can be submitted to: info@manhattancb2.org before 5:00pm on the day of the meeting.
Visit CB2 Manhattan’s online calendar for agenda updates by clicking here.
******************************************************************
Outdoor Dining Working Group
Tuesday, January 13 @ 6:30 pm
Applications for Roadway Sheds and/or Sidewalk Cafes:
- *Flippers NYC LLC dba Flippers, 337 West Broadway, 10013 (Sidewalk cafe)
In person at the CB2 Office, 3 Washington Square Village (at Bleecker near LaGuardia – Map)
Option to attend remotely via Zoom.
Seating is limited in the Conference Room. Registration is required to ensure there is adequate space.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.
November 30, 2025
Stop the Canal Street Boondoggle
We desperately need you to stop the cockamamie proposal by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to shrink traffic lanes in each direction on Canal Street from three lanes down to two by widening the sidewalks, as well as other ill-advised plans.
How can you stop this?
DOT wants your opinion and feedback. View the proposal here and complete the online survey. Answer the questions and let DOT know directly what you think of their wasteful and senseless boondoggle.
Residents United Against DOT Scheme
Last Wednesday over 100 people plus 75 more on Zoom attended a public forum on the matter.
Most people were not pleased. Many were outraged.
Residents from all over Downtown – the Lower East Side, the Bowery corridor, Chinatown, Little Italy, TriBeCa and SoHo – joined together in their opposition to the scheme.
Ostensibly floated as a safety measure, in reality eliminating two traffic lanes will only provide yet more free space for unlicensed peddlers to sell their counterfeit goods to obliging tourists.
Not to mention the inevitable increased congestion on that often gridlocked thoroughfare.
In response to residents’ fears that sidewalk expansion will only serve to invite more unlicensed peddlers, DOT disingenuously responded that enforcement would solve that, ignoring the fact that 25 years of “enforcement” has only seen the problem worsen.
Grand Street residents also objected to a proposal to construct a two-way bike lane there.
They argued that Grand Street is among the narrowest in the city, only eight feet wide, and that pedestrians are often forced to walk in the street to avoid bumping into each other on the sidewalk. If an additional bike lane is added, where will pedestrians go? DOT had no answer.
Lack of forethought was further evident regarding the proposal to eliminate left turns for eastbound Canal Street traffic at both West Broadway and Greene Street.
That proposal means eastbound vehicles would have to travel all the way over to Centre Street – almost half a mile – to turn north and then loop back to enter central SoHo, further congesting and polluting our streets.
To be fair, there were a couple of sensible proposals in the slew of foolish ones — for instance: new, painted crosswalks, as well as curb extensions at intersections to reduce crossing distances for pedestrians.
The DOT spokesperson said that their proposals were not set in stone, more a work in progress, and wanted to hear residents’ feedback via their survey. However, the first phase of this proposal is set to begin July 2026.
What Can You Do To Stop This?
Let DOT hear from you!
Answer the survey and let DOT know you oppose its silly scheme. Send the link to your friends and neighbors.
To stop this boondoggle, we must make DOT realize that we know what is best for our community, not them.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS.
November 23, 2025
DOT Announces Extensive Canal Street Construction Project & Public Forum
The New York City Transportation Department is planning a massive years-long redesign of the entire length of Canal Street from the Manhattan Bridge to the Hudson River, scheduled to start July 2026.
View slides of the redesign here.
To inform and hear from us, the Transportation Department and our local Community Boards are co-sponsoring a public forum this Monday, November 24 at 6:00 pm at 100 Hester Street (between Forsyth and Eldridge Streets).
You can also register to attend remotely via Zoom here.
Some of the proposals:
– Widen sidewalks by eliminating a traffic lane in each direction.
– Eliminate the existing left-turn lanes for eastbound Canal Street traffic turning north onto West Broadway and onto Greene Street.
– Create a two-way bike lane for Grand Street.
– Close Walker Street in TriBeCa where it terminates at Baxter and Canal Streets.
– Move local deliveries from Canal Street to side streets.
– Design safer pedestrian crossings.
– Widen sidewalks by eliminating a traffic lane in each direction
It’s said the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Yes, widening the sidewalks will shorten crossing times for pedestrians. But it will also provide more space for the scores of those unlicensed peddlers to hawk their counterfeit goods and unregulated cannabis. Is that what we want?
These peddlers have increased in numbers in the past year, for reasons unknown. Despite publicized ICE arrests last month, they have returned.
The City says enforcement will remove the peddlers. But enforcement — or, more accurately, the lack of it — hasn’t removed them after more than a quarter century of their presence here. Let’s be realistic. Are wider sidewalks worth it, only to have more peddlers monopolizing them?
– Eliminate the left-turn lane for eastbound Canal Street traffic turning north onto West Broadway and onto Greene Street
Not that we particularly want Jersey drivers coming into SoHo, but if vehicles from New Jersey traveling east would not be able to enter SoHo from these two streets (left-turns north onto Sixth Avenue are currently not allowed), how would they access SoHo?
They would have to turn north onto Hudson Street and enter SoHo at Spring Street. Is that a good idea? Attend the forum and voice your opinion.
– Create a two-way bike lane for Grand Street.
Grand Street residents may want to weigh in on that proposal.
– Close Walker Street in TriBeCa where it terminates at Baxter and Canal Streets.
The proposal would close Walker Street where it terminates at Baxter Street in order to create a pedestrian plaza there.
Pedestrian plazas are nice. But does the City really believe that people want to hang out and socialize in the middle of cacophonous Canal Street?
Traffic on eastbound Walker Street will get backed up due to the blockage and would try to enter Canal Street prior to reaching the proposed plaza. This could create congestion on narrow TriBeCa side streets. For what purpose?
This redesign proposal is sweeping. It will significantly and permanently alter the Canal Street landscape. Work is set to begin July 2026 and construction could last several years.
To inform and hear from us, the Transportation Department and our local Community Boards are co-sponsoring a public forum this Monday, November 24 at 6:00 pm at 100 Hester Street, between Forsyth and Eldridge Streets.
You can also register to attend remotely via Zoom here.
View detailed slides of the redesign here.
We strongly encourage you to attend the forum, hear the presentation, and voice any questions, concerns or opinions you may have regarding this project.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.
November 12, 2025
Elizabeth Street Garden Saved!
The Adams administration has just announced that it has declared Elizabeth Street Garden as official city parkland, effectively preserving it for public use and enjoyment in perpetuity.
Designated parkland can only be built upon if it is officially “alienated” for park use by the State legislature, something never likely to happen in today’s local political climate.
Concerns were raised in the days before last week’s election, when Zohran Mamdani, asked at a forum if he would evict the garden, replied “Yes.”
Perhaps Mamdani didn’t know that in June the Adams administration and Councilmember Chris Marte had worked out an agreement to preserve the garden and also build 620 units of PERMANENT affordable housing on three lots nearby.
On the other hand, the original plan for the garden was to destroy most of it in order to build a mere 123 units of TEMPORARY affordable housing: 1/5 the number.
After all these years of struggling to save the park from destruction, it is gratifying to see this victory and is testimony to what the tremendous community efforts of myriad thousands of volunteers can achieve.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.
November 9, 2026
SoHo/NoHo Election Breakdown
The results of last week’s elections have been well broadcast but we thought you might be curious how our neighborhood broke down.
Zohran Mamdani won most of SoHo with Andrew Cuomo squeaking out a small lead in the 59th Election District, which comprises most of the north-central portion of SoHo, 3 votes ahead out of 483 votes cast.
The remaining election districts all had Mamdani well ahead with leads ranging from 12% to 15%.
Election districts in the area between Thompson Street and Sixth Avenue, the South Village, saw Mamdani with a 22% lead over Cuomo, 482 votes to 381.
On the other hand, NoHo saw Cuomo take it with a 5% lead: 387 to 348.
Click here to see the breakdown in detail. You can navigate the map to see how your block went.
One election result, however, proved very surprising. That was the vote on the six ballot proposals, three of which – #2, #3 and #4 – we asked you to reject.
Craftily inserted by Eric Adams and shrewdly labeled as “affordable housing” initiatives, in fact they represented a mayoral power grab away from the City Council. As a result, the influence of our councilmembers on local land-use will be diminished and decisions transferred to a panel created by the mayor.
Unfortunately, most city voters fell for the scheme, particularly in Manhattan, with the exception of SoHo/NoHo voters and a few isolated precincts within the borough. Results were mixed in the outer boroughs, but the initiatives carried overall.
The pink square in the map — that pink island in the midst of a sea of green — is our neighborhood. Click here to expand the map for greater detail.
We are proud that our neighbors were among the cognoscenti who saw through this scheme.
Please forward this email to friends and neighbors.
October 25, 2025
Vote NO on Ballot Proposals 2, 3, 4, 6
Early voting begins today. There are four ballot proposals — three of which were hatched by discredited Mayor Adams — which, if approved, will negatively impact you and our community for years to come.
Be sure to FLIP YOUR BALLOT OVER to vote on these consequential measures, located at the bottom of this year’s very long ballot.
Proposals 2, 3, 4 & 6: vote NO.
Proposals 1 & 5: vote YES.
Cynically introduced by the mayor as “affordable housing” measures, in reality proposals 2,3 & 4 are his attempt to finally wrest control of land use and zoning decisions away from our duly-elected City Councilmembers and hand it over to functionaries appointed by the mayor.
We elect our local councilmembers to represent our interests. Bureaucrats appointed by the mayor are not answerable to you but to their boss, the mayor, and will not give a hoot about what is good for you or our community.
Don’t let the most corrupt mayor since Jimmy Walker deprive us of our voice in local government.
Vote NO on 2, 3 & 4.
Proposal 6 would combine local elections with national elections. Currently, they occur on alternate years.
Seemingly harmless, in fact this proposal would relegate our important local elections to the bottom of the ballot and risk them being overlooked by many voters — as well as having local campaigns buried under the onslaught of advertising for national office.
Vote NO on 6.
Proposal 1 would add recreational skiing facilities and more protected forests to the Adirondack State Park.
Proposal 5 would create a digital map for city agencies, replacing outdated paper maps.
Vote YES on 1 and 5.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.
October 24, 2025
Stop This Nightclub!
In September we alerted you to a plan by a Bushwick-based, night club operation, Lightning Society, to locate in SoHo at 45 Howard Street/427 Broadway. These promoters want to operate a massive 16,000 square-foot private club for 256 people, open until 2:00 am on four floors and roof.
Their application for a liquor license will be heard by the State Liquor Authority next month. We need your help now to stop it — not only for the sake of the immediate residents on Howard but for the SoHo neighborhood as a whole.
There is a trend within the hospitality industry to bring late-night events into SoHo, described in detail below. You don’t want one of these clubs moving into a building near you.
State Senator Brian Kavanagh, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, City Councilmember Christopher Marte and Community Board 2 have already sent letters to the SLA requesting denial of the liquor application.
We are now asking you to join them. Simply send a short email opposing the liquor license at 45 Howard to us at info@sohoalliance.org. Be sure to include the address.
We will then bundle all your emails and present them to the Liquor Authority on your behalf. Your email need not be long or complex. Just a few words or sentences requesting denial is all it takes.
Why you must stop this:
This spring SoHo activists derailed a plan by the Museum of Ice Cream at 558 Broadway to sell liquor at late-night events there.
Last month, we were able to get the city to shut down a smaller club operation at 66 Greene Street.
Next month a professional events team will appear before the community board for a cabaret liquor-license to host private events on the 32,000 square-foot second floor of the Scholastic Building at 555 Broadway from 7:00 am until midnight, seven days a week with a capacity for 448 people.
If these businesses open on Broadway, expect copycats to follow — maybe in a building next to you!
Send a short email to info@sohoalliance.org to stop their spread.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.
October 13, 2025
Election Alert
The SoHo Alliance is non-partisan and does not endorse candidates in the November general election.
However, there are six ballot measures — four of which, if approved, will impact you and our community for years to come.
Be sure to FLIP YOUR BALLOT OVER to vote on these proposals.
Proposals 1 & 5: vote YES.
Proposals 2, 3, 4 & 6: vote NO.
Why?
– Proposal 1 would require New York State to add 2,500 acres of protected forest land in Adirondack Park to permit ski trails for the Olympic Sports Complex. This is a win-win: more protected forest land and more recreational uses for New Yorkers.
Vote YES on #1.
The following proposals 2, 3, 4 – engineered by Mayor Adams – aim to re-write the existing rules to diminish the power that our elected members of the City Council have to reject controversial housing developments in their own districts.
Many councilmembers use this option to negotiate with developers for better amenities, better compensation for workers or lower rents.
– Proposal 2 would remove existing community and environmental reviews on certain zoning questions. It would also eliminate review by the City Council.
Decisions would instead be made by the City Planning Commission and the Board of Standards and Appeals — political appointees selected by the mayor, not elected by us.
Vote NO on #2.
– Proposal 3 removes the final review on certain development projects from the City Council, where it has always rested, onto the City Planning Commission, a mayoral agency. It would fast-track review of certain development projects from the current seven months to three months and allow developments 30% larger than currently allowed..
Rushing approval to shave a mere four months off the construction of an out-of-character building that could take years to complete and tower over our neighborhood for a 100 years is not good government.
Vote NO on #3.
– Proposal 4 would create an appeals board consisting of the mayor, the borough president and the City Council speaker to overturn decisions by the City Council on certain development projects. It only requires two of those three officials to override the 51-member City Council vote.
There is a long-standing courtesy in the Council whereby the councilmembers defer to the wishes of the local councilmember on land-use questions in that district.
Not often invoked, this practice guarantees that the local councilmember — elected by the local residents — can best represent the interests of that neighborhood on land-use questions, not a triad of city officials foreign to the community with their own interests in mind.
Vote NO on #4.
– Proposal 5 consolidates the five separate borough maps into a single citywide digital system. It is a modernization measure for various City agencies with minimal policy impact.
Vote YES on #5.
– Proposal 6 would align city election years with presidential election years.
Seemingly innocuous and well intentioned, it risks our local elections being overshadowed by presidential campaigning. Eyes would be on the presidential races, with local elections placed on the back burner by many voters.
Maintaining the current system ensures our local candidates and local elections get the full exposure and attention they deserve.
Vote NO on #6.
The mayor’s proposals are seen as payback to his pals. Disregard the flyers and messaging you will be receiving from self-interested PACs, disguised as “affordable housing” advocates. Their money is coming from Big Real Estate.
LEARN MORE:
The SoHo Alliance is co-sponsoring a free Zoom Webinar Town Hall on this subject with Village Preservation this Wednesday, October 15 at 6:00 pm to explain these proposals in greater detail and to take your questions.
Pre-registration required. Register here.
September 22, 2025
Mosquito Spraying / Watermain Shut Off
Mosquito Spraying
To combat the mosquito population, tomorrow, Monday, September 22 between 11:00 pm and 6:00 am, Department of Health trucks will be spraying insecticide throughout most of lower Manhattan, including SoHo, NoHo, Greenwich Village, the South Village, the East Village, Nolita, Little Italy, TriBeCa, Chinatown, and the Lower East Side southwards to the tip of the island.
The Health Department suggests if you wish to minimize exposure, when possible, stay indoors.
If you want additional information, visit the Department of Health website:
https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/
Watermain Shut Off
To facilitate an infrastructure upgrade to prevent watermain breaks in the area, the NYC Department of Design and Construction will be installing a new watermain in the western area of SoHo around Thompson Street on Monday and Tuesday evenings, September 22 and 23, from 9:00 pm until 5:00 am.
Some watermains are almost a hundred years old and need to be replaced. New types of pipes are more resistant to cracks and breaks.
To do this work, the water supply has to be turned off temporarily, then turned on at the end of the shift.
Locations:
Broome Street, between Sixth Avenue and West Broadway
Grand Street, between Sixth Avenue and West Broadway
Spring Street, between Thompson Street and West Broadway
Thompson Street, between Houston and Grand Streets
This is a moveable operation and will not affect every location simultaneously.
Before the water shutdown:
– Store water for cooking, cleaning, and other needs
– Shut off the water main valve in your building to prevent plumbing problems, including brown water from sediments, or ask your landlord or super to do so.
– Turn off water-cooled systems such as central air and heating.
After the water is turned back on:
– Turn on your building’s water main valve or ask your landlord or super to do so.
– Run all sink and tub faucets for 15-30 minutes to flush the plumbing.
If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to learn more about this DDC Project, call the Community Construction Liaison:
Prakrati Shrivastava (CCL)
Field Office: 78 Bowery, 4th Floor,
New York, NY 10013
Cell: 332-877-6520
Office: 646-887-3909
Email:hwpr19mc1.ccl@gmail.com
September 15, 2025
September SoHo News
We like to keep you informed of events and trends in our neighborhood. A disquieting development in commercial real estate is becoming evident.
The market for office space tanked during the pandemic. Although recovering, some landlords want a backup plan — at our expense. There are moves to introduce oversize, late-night event or party spaces into our community.
SoHo is packed during the day but is pleasant enough for its residents after the stores close around 8:00. However, a few landlords want to change that dynamic and turn SoHo into an all-day and all-night neighborhood.
– For instance, the Museum of Ice Cream at 558 Broadway, originally a playspace for kids to Instagram, when things got slow obtained a liquor license a few years ago to entertain adult events until 8:00pm.
Not satisfied with that incongruity, this spring the business requested an extension of its operating hours until midnight. Suddenly, a quaint space for children to play morphs into a late-night party space for adults. Our appeals to the State Liquor Authority spurred by the Broadway Residents Coalition quashed that endeavor. The NY Times ran an informative story on it here.
– Directly across Broadway at 557, the Scholastic Corporation is exploring a partial or full sale of its building, then leasing back part for its own use with other businesses also operating in the building. One such company is Convene, a hospitality enterprise that manages corporate meeting and event spaces, replete with music and dancing.
Convene has filed an application for a cabaret liquor-license to serve private parties on the 32,000 square-foot second floor from 7:00 am until midnight, seven days a week with a capacity for 448 people and no plans for security personnel nor crowd or vehicular traffic control.
Interestingly, the zoning only permits a maximum of 8,500 square feet for an eating and drinking establishment. How Convene plans to get around this restriction has not been stated.
At the urging of the Broadway Residents Committee, Convene postponed its license presentation at Community Board 2 this month, pending further discussion with the residents.
– Further troubling are plans from a Bushwick-based operation, the Lightning Society, to operate a massive 19,000 square-foot private club for 256 people open until 2:00 am on three floors and the roof of 45 Howard Street at the southwest corner with Broadway.
Founded by “ex-leaders from WeWork, Soho House and Burning Man Festival” (their own words), one founder actually brags, “‘The thing that actually led me to start Lightning Society was that during that first trip to Burning Man, I discovered community.” Trouble is, Burning Man is held in the California desert, not in the residential community of SoHo.
Coincidentally, when the London-based Soho House opened its first club in this country 25 years ago, it attempted to operate at 110 Greene Street until 4:00 am, but was dissuaded from that notion by the SoHo Alliance. Paying attention to our advice, the club moved to the Meatpacking District. When it opened a couple of years later, the manager phoned to thank us for suggesting that much more suitable location. Too bad one of his cohorts now forgets that lesson.
In June, local residents attended the community board hearing to protest the club’s application for a liquor license. Surprised that residents would object to this intrusion, the club held its application over and met with neighbors in July, but little progress was made.
It now appears that these people may have gotten in over their head with the landlord, the Chetrit Group (which itself is reportedly in financial trouble) — them not realizing the many zoning and building code restrictions that could stymie their quixotic project. Stay tuned.
– At 66 Greene Street, between Spring and Broome, a record producer with a fashion line that he sells out of his retail store has been attempting to stage some large and loud late-night events there well past 1:00 am on that quiet block. A few were scheduled but quickly shut down when the SoHo Alliance working with the neighbors reported violations to the City which took enforcement actions.
We shall keep you abreast of any future developments.
June 23, 2025
Breaking News: Elizabeth Street Garden Saved
Today the Adams administration and Councilmember Christopher Marte announced their agreement to save our Elizabeth Street Garden, while at the same time providing 620 new affordable housing units throughout Marte’s district.
This win-win will be accomplished by rezoning three sites in the district and represents more than a five-fold increase from the mere 123 units proposed for the garden space.
One site is 156-166 Bowery, between Kenmare and Broome Streets, currently an empty lot formerly occupied by lighting fixture stores and zoned for market-rate housing. The lot will be rezoned to allow for 123 units of affordable senior housing, the same number of units intended for the Elizabeth Street Garden.
Another site is an empty city-owned lot at 22 Suffolk Street that will generate 200 units of all-affordable housing.
The third site is a city-owned building at 100 Gold Street, currently used for government offices. The building will be demolished and sold to a developer. The new building will have 1,000 mixed-income units, of which at least 25% will be required to be affordable.
This is a victory for our community, the city, and Marte. He has been pilloried by free-marketeers and real-estate speculators for his adamant defense of our garden. In fact, all three of his opponents in Tuesday’s elections support the destruction of our urban oasis and were willing to accept the pittance of a paltry 123 units.
As we reported over the weekend, these free-market groups and their cohorts in big real-estate are spending close to a million dollars in negative campaigning to defeat Marte.
Let’s show Chris our appreciation for his efforts and determination. If you have not already done so and are a registered Democrat, get out tomorrow and vote for him in the primary. All the negative attack ads could make for a close election, so your vote for Marte is essential.