Pelham Bay and Westchester Square residents concerned that developers would move in after adjacent neighborhood was down-zoned. After the City down-zoned Throgs Neck in September 2004, 1 CityLand 4 (Oct. 15, 2004), residents of Pelham Bay and Westchester Square complained that the new limits on development in Throgs Neck would send developers north and westward into their communities, spurring over-development. While both communities are predominately developed with detached housing, the current zoning permits large apartment buildings, with up to 12 stories in some cases. To eliminate this disparity, the Planning Department initiated down-zonings of both neighborhoods.

The Pelham Bay proposal calls for the rezoning of approximately 45 blocks. The majority of the area would be rezoned from R5, R6, or R7-1 to the newly created R5A district, limiting new construction to one- and two-family detached homes and setting a 35-foot height limit. The proposal also calls for reducing the depth of commercial overlays, from 150 to 100 feet, along Westchester, Crosby and portions of Buhre Avenues. (read more…)