Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. joined representatives from HPD, NYCHA, and the development team for the ribbon cutting of 1880 Boston Road on August 5, 2019. Image Credit: NYC HPD/Twitter

168 residential units were created on top of an existing building structure that will serve low-income and formerly homeless seniors. On August 5, 2019, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) celebrated the completion of 1880 Boston Road, a 168-unit affordable senior housing development in the West Farms neighborhood of the Bronx. HPD, HDC, and NYCHA celebrated the project’s completion with project partners Foxy Management, Hebrew Home at Riverdale, and Alembic Community Development. (more…)

Disposition of City-owned property will facilitate development of eightstory, 65-unit project for low-income seniors and special needs residents. On October 19, 2011, the City Planning Commission approved the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s proposal to facilitate the construction of a 65-unit supportive housing project, known as El Rio Residence, in the West Farms section of the Bronx. Comunilife Inc., a non-profit health care agency, plans to develop the eight-story project on a 2,200 sq.ft. portion of a City-owned lot next to a building at 2064 Boston Road owned by Comunilife. The site is two blocks from the Bronx Zoo and the Bronx River Art Center. To facilitate the project, HPD requested permission to dispose of the property to Comunilife.

El Rio Residence would provide 29 affordable studio apartments for low-income seniors and 36 studios for seniors with mental illness. The project would include a 2,422 sq.ft. landscaped open space and a multipurpose room. Supportive services, including a communal kitchen and laundry room, would occupy the building’s ground floor.

Bronx Community Board 6 and Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. supported the proposal. No one opposed the proposal at the Commission’s October 5 public hearing, and the Commission unanimously approved the plan.

CPC: El Rio Residence (C 110365 HAX – UDAAP and dispo.) (Oct. 19, 2011) (Architect: Gran Kriegel Associates Architects + Planners).

Proposed 1,300-unit project near the Bronx River led by Gifford Miller would include a mix of affordable and market-rate apartments. On October 5, 2011, the City Council approved Signature Urban Properties’ proposal to build a ten-building mixed-use project overlooking the Sheridan Expressway and the Bronx River in the Crotona Park East and West Farms sections of the Bronx. To facilitate the approximately 1,300- unit project, Signature submitted multiple applications including a proposal to rezone an eleven-block area generally bounded by Boston Road to the north, Freeman Street to the south, West Farms Road to the east, and Boone Avenue to the west. Signature proposed rezoning the primarily industrial area from M1-1 to R6A, R7A, R7X, and R8X districts with C2-4 commercial overlays.

Signature proposes to build seven buildings along two blocks of West Farms Road and Boone Avenue between East 173rd and Jennings Streets and divided by East 172nd Street. Signature first plans to develop two buildings on the northern portion of the block bounded by East 172nd and Jennings Streets. The buildings will range in height from three to nine stories along Boone Avenue and from nine to fifteen stories along West Farms Road, and will include 237 residential units and 130 underground parking spaces.

Five buildings will be developed on the block to the north, which will be divided by a 60-foot wide landscaped open space. To the south, two buildings will range in height from six to thirteen stories and include 288 apartments, ground floor commercial space along Boone Avenue and a central courtyard with a public playground. Signature will provide space for a six-story elementary school in one of the three buildings on the block’s northern portion. If the School Construction Authority elects to build the school, Signature would create a total of 317 apartments in the remaining floor area. The three buildings would include a total of 370 apartments if the SCA does not build the school.  (more…)

Rhinelander Avenue in Morris Park, Bronx, one of many streets open to pedestrians and cyclists under the Open Streets program. Image Credit: CityLand

The plan will aim to add 100 miles of open streets, widened sidewalks and protected bike lanes. On April 27, 2020, the Mayor’s Office announced a plan along with Council Speaker Corey Johnson to implement street closures, sidewalk widening, and the addition of bike lanes as part of the City’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The plan aims to close off streets to cars to provide more space for social distancing for pedestrians and cyclists as the weather gets warmer and more people are expected to go outside.  (more…)

Public Advocate Letitia James speaking at New York Law School.

City development commitments would be published online for public dialog and accountability. On December 14, 2016, the City Council passed legislation to require the Mayor’s Office to publish the City’s financial commitments resulting from the ULURP process. The legislation was sponsored by Public Advocate Letitia James and received a unanimous vote of approval from the City Council. (Read past CityLand coverage here). (more…)