The New York City Council on Thursday is expected to pass a proposal to rezone 46 blocks in the East Bronx, paving the way for expanded development of housing, retail and a medical hub centered around four new Metro-North train stations along an existing line.
The plan portends big changes for parts of the borough, with about 7,000 new homes, 1.23 million square feet of commercial space and 1.29 million square feet for new community facilities anticipated over the next decade, generating a projected 10,000 permanent jobs.
Passage of the proposal would be a major housing victory for the Adams administration, as it aggressively pursues more development in areas that have seen little of it through its signature “City of Yes” initiatives intended to allow for the creation of more housing, including subsidized apartments.
The proposal is centered around four Metro-North train stations in Co-Op City, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park and Hunts Point set to open in late 2027, providing residents of those neighborhoods easier access to Midtown on commuter lines that already pass through but don’t stop in their neighborhoods.
Bronx Council members Amanda Farías, Kristy Marmorato, Kevin Riley and Rafael Salamanca Jr. were able to obtain commitments for nearly $500 million in capital investments from the Adams administration, with most of that going into the districts of Farías and Marmorato, whose districts include the Parkchester and Morris Park stops, respectively, and account for the bulk of the rezoning area.
“I think it’s pretty significant when we’re looking at communities that haven’t really seen any large investments as a whole between the communities, both north and south, and the East Bronx,” Farías told THE CITY, noting that along with the new train stations the city spending will make it easier for people to commute, shop and visit friends and family while creating more employment and improving infrastructure. “I’m really looking forward to, over the years, seeing a lot of those investments rolled out.”
Those include $119 million for improvements to parks and open spaces, $12 million for school upgrades, $170 million for sewer improvements, water line repairs and flood protections, and $189 million for sidewalks and street improvements, along with establishing minimum parking-space mandates for new development and a $250,000 feasibility study for a pedestrian bridge over the Bronx River that would connect the Longwood and Soundview neighborhoods in the South Bronx. Most improvements would be completed within the next five years.
Other commitments include creation of up to 500 units for homeownership;an evaluation of illegal dumping in the Co-Op City station area, MTA station security measures, including cameras and elevator management, and incorporation of terra cotta statues into the Parkchester/Van Nest station and surrounding area.
Department of City Planning Bronx Director Paul Phillips and lead planner for Bronx Metro-North project Michael Kavalar, who has been working on it since July 2018, told THE CITY that the agency emphasized holistic planning that pairs capital investments and land use, along with persistent community feedback.
Kavalar recalled a Fall 2018 community session in Morris Park in which a resident pointed to a map part of the presentation expressing a desire for a plaza, a type of open space now planned for the development. The planning department has held hundreds of meetings since project planning began, including public workshops, open houses and info sessions, according to spokesperson Joe Marvilli.
Neighborhood Transformations
The new transit stations promise to be especially transformative for
Co-Op City, the vast high-rise development housing nearly 44,000 people, and low-rise Morris Park, part of a Council district that had created fewer than 60 units of housing between 2014 and 2022.
That tension between new housing and low-density neighborhoods arose in the 2022 rezoning of a portion of Bruckner Boulevard in Throggs Neck, which Marmorato opposed, ultimately helping her oust Democratic incumbent Marjorie Velázquez last year. Marmorato, whose district covers Morris Park and parts of Van Nest, backed the Metro-North plan after negotiating a decrease in the density and height of the apartment buildings, and securing upgrades and repairs for the 49th NYPD precinct.
Marmorato also secured promised reductions in the height and density of the development planned near the future Morris Park Metro-North station, which she said she considered dealbreakers.
Developers had planned about 7,500 apartments for near the future Morris Park train station. That number is now at around 5,500, said Marmorato. A portion that would have rezoned a U-shaped corridor on Stillwell Avenue and Eastchester Road for more retail was also removed.
“We’re striking a balance where we’re providing the housing that we need in our district, but we’re also preserving the character of our low-density community and our neighborhood,” Marmorato told THE CITY, adding that the new housing would be “in the back of manufacturing zones, so it’s not right in the center of our community and it’s not an eyesore.”
In the 2000s, former Councilmember Jimmy Vacca, who represented the 13th district before Velázquez and her predecessor, successfully pushed zoning regulations that prioritized low-density housing. Now the district is set to see an explosion of higher-density housing over the next decade.
Affordability and Commute Times
At least a quarter of the new housing the rezoning allows for would be subsidized at 60% of the city’s area median income, or $93,180 for a family of four.
Farías emphasized affordability as a major priority during negotiations.
“I think what we’re seeing as a city, generally, around housing development and affordability is what’s affordable to what communities and how do you create affordability for the people that are living within the communities right now?” said Farías.
She mentioned herself, a single person with no dependents making upwards of $100,000, and her mother, a unionized healthcare worker making around $70,000 supporting a family of three, as examples of the kind of people who want to live and stay in the area.
“We have to look at making sure we’re balancing between what the community actually wants to benefit from and what the price point is going to be for rent, if we’re asking them to build the way they’re building,” she added, noting local calls for commercial and gathering spaces, a supermarket and a community center. “We have to keep in mind that these are projects that are privately owned. None of this is on municipal land.”
Salamanca, who represents Hunts Point and chairs the Land Use Committee, said the rezoning will create jobs and help residents get to their destinations. The Bronx, he said, is getting “its fair share of very much needed transportation.”
“The train drives through our community, as is. It just doesn’t stop here,” he told THE CITY. He noted parking availability as a top concern and says he expects people to drive to and park near the Metro-North stations, especially if congestion pricing for vehicles entering Manhattan happens down the road. “It’s gonna get unpaused at one point.”
Riley, whose 12th Council district includes Co-Op City, said the Metro-North station there would shorten commute times “drastically” and create more economic opportunities for his constituents who live in a “huge transit desert.”
“The 5 train line isn’t really reliable. They’ve been working on that track since I was in high school. For somebody to get from Co-Op City down to Midtown, they will have to take about a bus or two, depending how the buses feel that day, to the 5 train,” Riley said. “If the 5 train isn’t working, they’ll possibly have to take three buses.”
While Councilmembers weren’t able to negotiate free shuttle bus services to the Metro-North for seniors in the area, Riley said they were able to get more frequent service on local buses Bx26 and Bx28. He also noted that the Metro-North could help those seniors feel like tourists in their own city.
“They don’t want to get on the train. They aren’t really comfortable with driving to the city because of all the parking restrictions, and things of that nature,” Riley continued. “So, this will make it more easy for them to actually access the city and be able to use a lot of the amenities that they want to use.”
‘That’s How It Goes’
In Parkchester near 1880 East Tremont Avenue, a development site that at one time housed a bowling alley, a record store and movie theater, residents told THE CITY that they were happy about the incoming Metro-North train plan, but emphasized the need for businesses and community sites that they could enjoy.
William H., 55, told THE CITY that he was happy about the plan because he expects the value of his condominium to increase. He anticipates commuting on the Metro-North.
He’s tired of fruitlessly searching for parking in Parkchester. “You know how happy I’d be if it was a half an hour, man? Dude, ready? [It’s] an hour, two hours, three hours, never,” said William, who said he lived in the area for about the last 35 years.
Speaking of the new train station, he said, “I would use it because there’s no parking.”
Gary, 60, another Parkchester resident, agreed that parking in the area is “terrible” and that the train stations would help residents get downtown faster.
“Look how many people work in Manhattan,” he said, adding that he likely would not use it since he lives closer to the No. 6 subway line.
Others, like resident Anthony Greene, expressed indifference to the development plan but supported the construction jobs that it would create.
“As these buildings go up, new buildings go up in the city, anywhere, it’s more jobs. We create the jobs,” said Greene, 60, a retired sheet metal worker. “If it’s no buildings going up, it’s no hospitals being built, it’s no schools being built, it’s no jobs, no new jobs coming up. You know what I’m saying? That’s it. That’s how it goes.”
