NYC to Invest $500M in East Bronx as Metro-North Rezoning Inches Closer to Reality
By Abigail Nehring August 6, 2024 6:07 pm
reprints
New York City is close to clearing the way for developers to build 7,000 new homes in the East Bronx, and its plan comes with a major investment in the neighborhood.
The City Council Land Use Committee voted Tuesday to approve a plan to rezone a 46-block swath near the future Metro-North Railroad stations in Parkchester and Morris Park, in a bid to spur housing construction in the neighborhoods.
But now there’s a major bonus to sweeten the deal, with Mayor Eric Adams agreeing to invest $498.5 million in the surrounding neighborhoods’ infrastructure, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams announced Tuesday.
“Confronting the housing and affordability crisis in our city requires creating more new homes for New Yorkers,” Adrienne Adams said in a statement. “The opening of four new Metro-North stations in the Bronx presents a unique opportunity to develop affordable housing and homeownership opportunities, while delivering critical infrastructure investments that benefit surrounding neighborhoods for generations.”
The newly allocated funds will go towards park and playground renovations, upgrades to local schools, street and sewer improvements, and creating prettier sidewalks around the new Metro-North stations. The New York City Police Department’s 49th Precinct will also get some major upgrades, but the City Council did not detail what the work would entail.
The city hopes the investment will help quell concerns about the potential strain the new housing units will put on the existing infrastructure in the East Bronx communities in the rezoning area, with some local residents pushing back on the plans. The proposal won support from local Councilmember Kristy Marmorato, however, a key nod of approval as the full City Council tends to follow the local representative’s vote.
“This rezoning is the largest we’ve seen in a decade and today marks a pivotal moment in our community’s journey,” Marmorato said in a statement. “Our collaborative efforts have resulted in significant modifications to the Bronx Metro North proposal, ensuring it respects our community’s character and meets our needs with regards to keeping our parking mandates, respecting and keeping our lower density communities, and securing much needed capital commitments.”
The zoning plan was first proposed by the Department of City Planning two years ago and will allow for mid- and high-rise residential development in the areas. Aside from the 7,000 units — about 25 percent of which will be affordable — it will also allow retail space and life sciences labs to be developed in the areas, according to the City Planning.
It’s pegged with the construction of four new Metro-North stations in the Bronx, which officials said will cut down commuting time to Manhattan to about 30 minutes. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority previously said the stations will come online in 2027.
With the approval from the Land Use Committee, the rezoning is now on the last leg of its journey and will go before the entire council for a vote later this month.
Abigail Nehring can be reached at anehring@commercialobserver.com.
