Editing SoHo, Manhattan (section)

===Rezoning===
Despite the significant change in the neighborhood's character in the previous decades, by the end of the 2010s the area's zoning still reflected its industrial heritage; any new residential development required special permits.<ref name="Gothamist_04_21">{{cite news |last1=Schuerman |first1=Matthew |title=7 Things You Ought To Know About The SoHo/NoHo Rezoning |url=https://gothamist.com/news/7-things-you-ought-know-about-sohonoho-rezoning |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[Gothamist]] |date=April 4, 2021 |quote=}}</ref> As such, in 2019 the city began a public consultation process called "Envision SoHo/NoHo" to plan for future growth and manage change, and ultimately to bring land use rules in line with the mainly residential and commercial present-day reality of the neighborhood.<ref name="EnvisionSoHo">{{cite web |title=About the SoHo/NoHo Planning Process |url=https://www.envisionsohonoho.nyc/about-the-sohonoho-planningprocess |website=Envision SoHo/NoHo |access-date=20 September 2021 |archive-date=September 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920212213/https://www.envisionsohonoho.nyc/about-the-sohonoho-planningprocess |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A coalition of nearly two dozen housing and social organizations, led by pro-housing advocacy group [[Open New York]], and including the [[Citizens Housing and Planning Council]], the [[Regional Plan Association]], and [[Habitat for Humanity]], seized on the idea of a rezoning as a means of alleviating the [[New York City housing shortage|city's housing shortage]].<ref name="Gothamist_04_21"/><ref name="Gothamist_08_19">{{cite news |last1=Kim |first1=Elizabeth |title=Pro-Development Group Targets Soho & Noho For Affordable Housing |url=https://gothamist.com/news/pro-development-group-targets-soho-noho-for-affordable-housing |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[Gothamist]] |date=August 16, 2019}}</ref> In October 2019, the coalition put forward a rezoning plan that would produce 3,400 additional housing units, nearly 700 of which would be affordable, and later that month the city officially proposed a similar plan that envisaged the creation of 3,200 new residential units and up to 800 affordable units.<ref name="NYC_10_20">{{cite news |title=Mayor de Blasio Announces Start of Public Process for SoHo-NoHo Neighborhood Plan |url=https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/699-20/mayor-de-blasio-start-public-process-soho-noho-neighborhood-plan |access-date=20 September 2021 |publisher=[[Government of New York City|City of New York]] |date=October 7, 2020 |format=Press Release}}</ref><ref name="Sun_04_21">{{cite news |last1=Flynn |first1=Gerard |title=Nonprofits behind Soho/Noho rezoning are packed with power players |url=https://thevillagesun.com/nonprofits-behind-soho-noho-rezoning-are-packed-with-power-players |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=Village Sun |date=April 9, 2021}}</ref> Observers suggested that the coalition's campaign for a residential rezoning had spurred a previously reluctant mayor to act, noting that even real estate industry groups like the [[Real Estate Board of New York]] (REBNY), the city's largest real estate trade organization, had shown no interest in a rezoning of SoHo and NoHo.<ref name="Sun_04_21" /> The proposal was immediately contentious; while most major candidates in the [[2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary|Democratic mayoral]] and [[2021 New York City borough president elections#Manhattan|Manhattan borough president]] primaries endorsed the plan, at least in principle, candidates for the [[2021 New York City Council election|city council district]] were more divided.<ref name="VPgar_21">{{cite web |title=Pressing Mayoral and City Council Candidates on Upzoning and SoHo/NoHo |url=https://www.villagepreservation.org/campaign-update/pressing-mayoral-and-city-council-candidates-on-upzoning-and-soho-noho/ |website=Village Preservation |publisher=[[Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation]] |access-date=20 September 2021 |format=Press release |date=April 19, 2021}}</ref><ref name="City_&_State_10_20">{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Rebecca C. |title=SoHo rezoning not a safe bet with Manhattan BP candidates |url=https://www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2020/10/soho-rezoning-not-a-safe-bet-with-manhattan-bp-candidates/175552/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[City and State]] |date=October 15, 2020}}</ref><ref name="NY1_07_20">{{cite news |last1=Lucente Sterling |first1=Anna |title=Land use issues in Lower Manhattan at forefront of council race |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/06/07/land-use-issues-in-lower-manhattan-at-forefront-of-council-race |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[NY1]] |date=June 7, 2021}}</ref><ref name="City_09_20">{{cite news |last1=Holliday Smith |first1=Rachel |title=Backyard Politics: These Candidates Want More Housing in New York's Rich Neighborhoods |url=https://www.thecity.nyc/housing/2020/9/24/21455149/candidates-want-more-housing-in-new-yorks-rich-neighborhoods |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[The City (website)|The City]] |date=September 24, 2020}}</ref>

A group of a half-dozen neighborhood groups, led by the [[Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation]], put forth a "community alternative plan" which they claimed would create more affordable housing without any major new development, and a report attacking the city's plan, a claim that was challenged by the city and other civic organizations.<ref name="amny_05_21">{{cite news |last1=Moses |first1=Dean |title=Lower Manhattan groups fight against SoHo and Chinatown rezoning plans |url=https://www.amny.com/news/lower-manhattan-community-groups-fight-against-soho-and-chinatown-rezoning-plans/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[amNY]] |date=May 11, 2021}}</ref> [[Carl Weisbrod]], former chairman of the [[New York City Planning Commission]] said the GVSHP's report was "misleading and disingenuous", and a spokesman for the mayor's office described the "community alternative plan" as "an exercise in magical 
thinking".<ref name="Crains_03_21">{{cite news |last1=Sachmechi |first1=Natalie |title=Experts blast 'misleading' report attacking SoHo rezoning plan |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/residential-real-estate/experts-blast-misleading-report-attacking-soho-rezoning-plan |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[Crain's New York Business]] |date=March 9, 2021}}</ref> In July 2021, the area's [[Community boards of Manhattan|community board]] voted to reject the proposal, although the vote was ultimately non-binding. In September 2021, [[Manhattan Borough president]] [[Gale Brewer]] expressed concerns about the plan, particularly the potential for the plan to incentivize commercial development rather than residential, a criticism echoed by some of the housing advocates who had initially pushed for the plan.<ref name="ComObs_09_21">{{cite news |last1=Baird-Remba |first1=Rebecca |title=Manhattan BP Gale Brewer Comes Out Against SoHo Rezoning |url=https://commercialobserver.com/2021/09/manhattan-bp-gale-brewer-comes-out-against-soho-rezoning/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[Commercial Observer]] |date=September 3, 2021}}</ref><ref name="City_Limits_09_21">{{cite news |last1=Brand |first1=David |title=SoHo-NoHo Rezoning Plan Needs Work, BP Brewer Says |url=https://citylimits.org/2021/09/03/soho-noho-rezoning-plan-needs-work-bp-brewer-says/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[City Limits (New York magazine)|City Limits]] |date=September 3, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Berkovitz_08_21">{{cite news |last1=Berkovitz |first1=Casey |title=Opinion: A Truly Equitable SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Should Focus on More Housing, Not Office Space |url=https://citylimits.org/2021/08/17/opinion-a-truly-equitable-soho-noho-rezoning-should-focus-on-more-housing-not-office-space/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[City Limits (New York magazine)|City Limits]] |date=August 17, 2021}}</ref>

In 2022, a team of over 2,000 players constructed a recreation of Soho in the sandbox game [[Minecraft]], as part of the COVID-19 [[Build the Earth]] movement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karel |first=Daniel |date=2022-03-10 |title=The 2,731-Person Project to Build New York City in Minecraft |url=https://www.curbed.com/2022/03/global-minecraft-team-building-new-york-city.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Curbed |language=en}}</ref>