Image from DCP Open House website, comparing a stretch of Eastchester Road in the Bronx with what it could possibly look like after the Metro-North train station construction and other land use changes. Image Credit: NYC DCP

The Department’s ongoing study uses community feedback to assess land use needs in the East Bronx. On April 30, 2021, the Department of City Planning released a new public engagement website for four new future Metro-North train stations in the east Bronx. The Metro-North Stations are planned for the Hunts Point, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park and Co-Op City neighborhoods and will connect with Penn Station and locations further north. Currently, there is information for the Morris Park and Parkchester/Van Nest stations, with information about the Co-Op City and Hunts Points stations to be provided at a later date. (read more…)

Text amendment closes loophole in zoning resolution that allowed developers to avoid providing off-street parking in eastern Bronx. On March 25, 2010, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s text amendment addressing parking issues in mid-density residential districts found primarily in Westchester Square and Pelham, and near Westchester Avenue in Co-Op City within Bronx Community District 10. The amendment expands the definition of CD 10’s Lower Density Growth Management Area to include R6 and R7-1 districts for the purposes of increasing off-street parking requirements.

The Lower Density Growth Management Area in CD 10 was established as part of the Throgs Neck Rezoning in 2004 in order to protect the character of low-density neighborhoods with limited access to public transit, limited availability of off-street parking, and high rates of vehicle ownership. 1 CityLand4 (Oct. 15, 2004). The 2004 designation only included R2, R3, R4A, and R4-1 zoning districts within CD 10. Over the past several years, however, community groups and elected officials have noted that the area’s mid-density districts have experienced the same problems as the lower-density districts. In addition to expanding CD 10’s Lower Density Growth Management Area, the amendment includes revisions to the parking provisions to close a loophole allowing developers who subdivided their lots to avoid providing off-street parking. (read more…)