A $500 million plan to drastically rezone a swath of the East Bronx secured final approval from the City Council this week, paving the way for significant infrastructure upgrades in the area as well as the construction of some 7,000 new apartments.
Though the rezoning initiative passed in a unanimous vote by the Council on Thursday afternoon, Bronxites shouldn’t expect to see shovels in the ground anytime soon.
The plan allows for taller construction of residential buildings across a section of Morris Park, Pelham Gardens, Pelham Parkway and Van Nest, but is contingent on the construction of two new MetroNorth stations in the area. The MTA doesn’t anticipate those stations will be ready until 2027 at the earliest, and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams acknowledged to reporters before Thursday’s vote that the influx of new housing isn’t around the corner.
“It’s something that certainly doesn’t happen overnight, so this will take a while to happen. We’re talking about 7,000 units, we’re talking about a lot of other amenities and a major, major face lift to three districts in the Bronx,” said the speaker, who has favored a pro-development agenda as a means to tackle the city’s increasingly dire housing crisis. “In the immediate future, we may not see as much as we need to see, but certainly this is going to address the large-scale need for more housing.”
MTA
A rendering of the proposed Metro-North Parkchester station in the Bronx. (MTA)
About a third of the thousands of new apartment units greenlit under the plan would need to be affordable under the city’s mandatory inclusionary housing law. The plan was first proposed by Mayor Adams’ administration and finalized in months of negotiations with the City Council.
Besides housing, the plan includes $500 million for various infrastructure upgrades in the neighborhoods where the new apartments will be built, including money for street and sewer improvements as well as park and public space renovations. There’s also $10 million earmarked for renovations of the 49th Precinct police station and $12 million for refurbishing public schools in the area.
The infrastructure commitments were seen as key to securing support for the plan from Bronx Councilwoman Kristy Marmorato, a Republican whose district includes most of the neighborhoods that are getting rezoned.
Marmorato, who was elected last year on an anti-housing development platform, touted the infrastructure investments in a statement after the vote.
“Through meaningful compromise, I fought for a proposal that achieves our housing goals while respecting the unique fabric of our district,” she said.
