For over twenty-five years, the volunteers of the SoHo Alliance have served our community. As an umbrella organization, the Alliance plays a leadership role with resident and business groups focusing on zoning, preservation, environmental and quality-of-life issues. The Alliance is a constant community voice supporting a livable neighborhood. Some of our activities are:

Last year, the SoHo Alliance negotiated a zoning-text change with the City that will allow new residential buildings to be constructed on SoHo’s parking lots. Under the old zoning, only hotels or commercial buildings could be built. The current zoning now permits residential construction, but in context with our low-rise, low-density neighborhood. That is: buildings about seven stories tall and lofts no less than 1200 square feet. Because the City did not want to continue the artist-certification requirement, in return we negotiated a ban on all eating-and-drinking establishments, many of which have caused noise and crowd problems for neighbors in the past. SoHo is the only neighborhood in the city with this restriction, quite a coup.

The Alliance has worked with neighbors adjacent to these lots, educating them on problems that could arise with new construction. Because SoHo rests on sandy soil, new construction invariably causes settling. This causes serious problems to individuals and our historic buildings. We have met with several block associations to inform them of the concern and refer them to professionals who can mitigate the damage.

We also worked to prevent the eviction of an artist and his family by a landlord who claimed that he needed the space as his ‘studio’. If this ploy succeeded, many of our protected neighbors would have been faced with eviction.

Attempts to remove the prohibition of sidewalk cafes on our narrow, crowded streets were thwarted when we convinced the City Planning Commission to permit outdoor cafes only on two wide streets, Lafayette Street and Sixth Avenue. We love outdoor cafes but SoHo’s streets are already over-congested.

With no parks for blocks, SoHo is sorely in need of any green it can get. Last year, SoHo Alliance members succeeded in legalizing planters on our sidewalks. However, some unscrupulous street peddlers, in order to get more sidewalk space, filed complaints in an attempt to remove several existing planters. We convinced the community board of our need for greenery and this decision was upheld in court.

We have been struggling for over a year to prevent the Department of Transportation from tearing up the Houston Street median to install left-hand turning bays that would funnel traffic onto our local side streets. Apropos, our members played a major role in having trucks banned from Broome Street and the Holland Tunnel, alleviating congestion and pollution in our community.

Although film making is an important part of our economy, the use of SoHo as a movie set can be overused. The SoHo Alliance has been cooperating with the Mayor’s Office of Film and Broadcasting to limit the exposure that our neighborhood gets from film crews.

Several of our steering committee members play active roles on Community Board #2, chairing the Landmarks and Waterfront Committees, as well as serving on the Executive Board. The SoHo Alliance welcomes any comments or questions regarding our neighborhood. E-mail us at info@sohoalliance.org