A proposal to encourage development along an industrial stretch of the Bronx has cleared a key hurdle. Two New York City Council committees voted unanimously to rezone 95 blocks in the Jerome Avenue corridor. The full council is expected to approve the plan March 21. 

The rezoning would allow more commercial and residential construction along the avenue, which is lined with auto shops, dollar stores and hair salons. The de Blasio Administration says it wants to revitalize the area and bring more housing, especially affordable housing, to the community. 

Like other neighborhood rezonings, the plan is controversial: some residents and activists worry that rents will spike, forcing out current residents and businesses. Auto shop workers say they've already been squeezed out of places like Willets Point, and there aren't many industrial areas left for them to move to.

But Councilwoman Vanessa L. Gibson argues the rezoning will come with major improvements. "Today's vote is major progress for the Bronx," she said, noting that the borough has suffered from "decades and decades of disinvestment." 

The de Blasio Administration predicts the rezoning will spur construction of 4,600 new homes, with a quarter of them affordable. The administration has also promised to build two new schools and invest $189 million for parks and other improvements. It is poised to be the administration's fourth neighborhood rezoning, following East New York, Far Rockaway and East Harlem.