Streetscape of Manida Street./Image Credit: LPC

The houses within the proposed historic district have a consistent architectural style and retain most historical details from the early 20th century. On January 21, 2020, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to calendar a proposed historic district in Hunts Point, Bronx. The Manida Street Historic District would be located on Manida Street between Garrison and Lafayette Avenues and would consist of 42 semi-detached, two-story brick houses on both sides of the street. The district would include 819 to 861 Manida Street on the west side of the street and 814 to 870 Manida Street on the east side of the street. The houses, built between 1908 to 1909, have a Renaissance Revival style and reflect a period in the early-20th Century when rapid development occurred in the South Bronx.

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Public School 31 in 2014 before its demolition./Image Credit: Google Maps

The landmarked building featured many late Gothic details. On December 10, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to rescind the individual landmark designation of a vacant lot, located at 425 Grand Concourse, Bronx. The lot was formerly the location of Public School 31, which was demolished in 2015.

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Partial Site Rendering Image Credit: NYCEDC

A Bronx not-for-profit sues City over the sale of waterfront property to a private developer. The City sold Pier 5 to a private developer to facilitate the construction of the Bronx Point development. Pier 5 is a 4.4 acre plot of land bounded by Mill Pond Park to the North, the 149^th Street Bridge to the South, the Major Deegan Expressway to the East and the Harlem River to the West. The development anticipates mixed-affordable housing, state of the art community facilities, open spaces and a waterfront esplanade. To read Cityland’s prior coverage of the Bronx Point development click here.

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Rendering of 700 Gerard Avenue/Image Credit: Partners for Architecture and Historic Preservation Consulting, LLC.

The new building would be the first new development in the historic district. On September 17, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness to construct a new five-story school building on a lot at 700 Gerard Avenue, Bronx which is located within the Grand Concourse Historic District. The lot, located on the east side of Gerard Avenue between East 153rd and East 157th Streets, is currently used as a parking lot and is above an existing underground subway tunnel. The new building would house the American Dream Charter School, a sixth to twelfth grade dual language charter school. Partners for Architecture is the architectural firm for the project.

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Site Layout Image Credit: City Planning

Council Subcommittee approves Bronx Point after initial concerns on affordable housing and workers compensation. On September 18, 2019, City Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses unanimously approved the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s UDAAP application to facilitate the creation of “Bronx Point.” The project proposes 1,045 housing units, 540 of which dedicated to permanently affordable housing, a waterfront esplanade, and community facilities including a new state-of-the-art movie theater and a Universal Hip Hop Museum.  The property is located north of East 150^th Street, south of Mill Pond Park, east of the Harlem River, west of Exterior Street/Major Deegan Expressway. To read in more detail and about the many other features of the Bronx Point development read previous coverage here.

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Rendering of Bronx Point. Image Credit: City Planning Commission

Bronx Point could spark development in the South Bronx. On August 14, 2019, the City Planning Commission unanimously approved an Urban Development Action Area Project (“UDAAP”) application in the South Bronx. The project, more commonly referred to as “Bronx Point” was brought by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”) to designate the property located north of East 150^th Street, south of Mill Pond Park, west of Exterior Street/Major Deegan Expressway and east of the Harlem River as an UDAAP. UDAAP designations provide tax exemptions for the rehabilitation or new construction of housing, on former city owned land, if City Council determines the area to be in need of an urban renewal.

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