Central Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Van Cortlandt Village and Throgs Neck down-zoned. On September 28, 2004, the City Council approved four major Bronx down-zonings.

In Central Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil, the Council rezoned a 30-block area to restrict any new buildings’ height to six and seven stories rather than the 14 stories previously permitted. Currently, 92 percent of the neighborhoods’ buildings are under seven stories.

The Council also rezoned a 15-block area of Van Cortlandt Village, limiting the size and floor area of new dwellings to a size that more closely matched the existing low density buildings. The down-zonings, opposed at the Council by several homeowners and commercial building owners, grew out of a §197-a rezoning proposal initiated in 1998 by Bronx Community Board 8 under the Charter provision that allows a board to propose a plan for its development, growth, and improvement. (read more…)