Neighborhood Advocates See Push For Power Blocked

In its testimony to the Charter Revision Commission, the Pratt Center for Community Development said, “City agencies must formally acknowledge 197-a plan recommendations, implement them where feasible, and provide an explanation if they choose to bypass them.”

Ron Shiffman, a veteran planner who's been involved in a number of 197-a plans, says the city needs to be genuine about giving communities a say in how their neighborhoods evolve. Some plans he has worked on showed more foresight than city officials displayed; for instance, the very first 197-a plan, covering the South Bronx and passed in 1992, called for a higher density of development years before City Hall made that a central part of planning policy. He thinks it's time to give 197-a plans teeth.

“You make it a policy decision--that once a 197-a plan passes, that it becomes city policy, and you need a super majority on the planning commission to get changes made,” he says.

But the Charter Revision Commission skipped the 197-a issue altogether. As their review would down this summer, charter commission members talked often about what a future charter commission—perhaps even a re-appointed sequel to this year's panel—might do. Land use could be the chief focus of such a future panel. But it's unclear whether and when Mayor Bloomberg might appoint a new commission.