If you live anywhere in lower Manhattan, no doubt you have heard about the Envision SoHo/NoHo planning process, which aims “to examine key land use and zoning issues in the two neighborhoods and seek community input to develop strategies to both honor SoHo/NoHo’s history and ensure the continued vitality of the neighborhoods.” SoHo is historically an artists’ neighborhood, so one would assume “community input” includes input from artists, but this is not the case. There are no artists in the Process Advisory Group that is to "help develop recommendations to inform the future of SoHo and NoHo." This must change if the planning process is to be legitimate.
If you haven’t heard yet, SoHo has a new “neighborhood improvement” group, an all-volunteer-run nonprofit called CleanUpSoHo dedicated to keeping SoHo streets clean. I, for one, have seen a huge improvement lately.
Ever wonder why SoHo doesn’t have a historical society or neighborhood association? I am forever grateful that we have the SoHo Alliance and SoHo Partnership. But I mean more like a place that preserves the cultural history of SoHo, what real loft living was like, what it was like to grow up in a loft not knowing that other children had doormen and elevators and carpeting, what it was like to raise a family while living illegally. Stuff like that.
SoHo as Concept
Apr 02 2015
About Us
The SoHo Memory Project celebrates the history of SoHo as a New York City neighborhood.
