Mayor Eric Adams had a win Thursday after city council passed a $500 million Bronx redevelopment plan — in what could be a sign of support for the mayor’s other more ambitious housing plans expected to be up for approval later this year.
The Bronx rezoning approved by the council is expected to add around 7,000 new residential units in high rises alongside four new Metro-North rail stops in Hunts Point, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park and Co-Op City.
The final deal in the Bronx could be seen as a positive harbinger for Hizzoner’s City of Yes housing proposal up for approval later this year.
“The approved Bronx Metro-North Station Area plan is a very encouraging for the City of Yes local zoning indicator for citywide mass transit, affordable housing and jobs,” Ken Frydman, a democratic operative told The Post.
That proposal, which faced similar infrastructure concerns from council members earlier this year, aims to shake up 60-year-old zoning regulations in all five boroughs to pull the city out of a dire housing crisis.
Compromises over council members’ infrastructure concerns is what got the proposal through, those close to the process told The Post.
Councilwoman Kristy Marmorato, whose Bronx district includes neighborhoods such as Morris Park and Van Nest with one and two family homes, said she agreed to the deal only after negotiating compromises with the city.
Marmorato told The Post the city agreed to spend hundreds of million on infrastructure projects near the new stops to assuage concerns from her and other council members that the burgeoning housing would overburden the area’s already overwhelmed infrastructure systems.
Majority Leader Amanda Farias, who championed the Bronx redevelopment legislation, called the final proposal a “testament to city council’s collaboration”.
“There were a lot of conversations around how can we ensure that there’s an interconnected network,” Farias said and noted that the infrastructure projects secured in Marmorato’s district spread to the surrounding districts too.
After city council approved the Bronx redevelopment plan Adams’ office issued a press release saying the Bronx redevelopment project could serve as a “model” for the rest of the city.
But Speaker Adrienne Adams, who is not related to Mayor Eric Adams, stopped short of issuing any support for the City of Yes housing plan when she talked to reporters about the two proposals Thursday.
While the Democratic leader called the Bronx redevelopment plan a “major, major facelift” desperately needed during the city’s “dire housing shortage”, Speaker Adams said the Bronx housing plan is too different from the mayor’s five-borough revamping plan to compare support.
“It’s difficult to draw conclusions as to what one has to do with the other. The City of Yes proposal is very vast, it’s wide and it’s particular for every district in the city of New York. So it’s a little bit different,” Adams said.
City Hall estimates the City of Yes housing plan could bring more than 100,000 new homes to New York City over the next 15 years by eliminating parking mandates for new housing projects, allowing more office-to-residential conversions and allowing developers to build 20% more if they include affordable housing units in their buildings.
“There are going to be a lot of dynamics in play for City of Yes,” Speaker Adams said. “We are going to have interesting negotiations around it and fully, fully want the communities to be involved in that.”
So far 38 community boards have issued non-binding votes against the City Yes housing proposal, 18 support the measure and the remainder are still on the fence.
Marmorato said other promises she secured in the negotiations are that new high-rises near the Metro-North stations in her district will be limited to 18 stories, the number of new housing units in her district dropped from 7,500 to 5,500 and the city agreed to provide more parking.
The city’s $500 million spending on the redevelopment is mostly for infrastructure projects including $119 million for park and open space renovations; around $189 million for street improvements; around $170 million for sewer improvements and other water line-related repairs.
Another $10 million was set aside for upgrades to the 49th Precinct police station and about $12 million will be spent on school improvements.
Marmorato, a Republican, called the final proposal “smart” development.
“We do need housing in the district,” Marmorato told The Post, noting the community in her district is also supportive of the final Bronx redevelopment plans.
If approved by the City Planning Commission this September, the City of Yes proposal could go before the Council as early as this fall.
A spokesperson from the mayor’s office declined to speak further to The Post about the similarities between the two proposals.
