GJONAJ, DEP HOST RAIN BARREL GIVEAWAY
Councilman Mark Gjonaj and the NYC Department of Environmental
Protection recently hosted a rain barrel giveaway for residents.
(Above) NYC DEP joined Gjonaj and Morris Park Community Association
representatives at Loreto Park.
Photo courtesy of Councilman Mark Gjonaj’s Offi ce
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M BTR AY 17-23, 2019 73
BY SANDI LUSK
I am writing this column
to share updates on two major
issues: Blondell Commons
and the Friends Cemetery affordable
housing project in
Westchester Square.
Blondell Commons
This was approved by the
City Council a few weeks ago,
and so will become a reality.
The most recent information
we have on this, is that it will
be funded by HPD under the
ELLA (Extremely Low & Low-
Income Affordability) Program.
From the HPD website:
ELLA is for low income multifamily
rental projects affordable
to households earning a
range of incomes from 30% to
60% of Area Median Income
(AMI; the area median income
is the household income
for the median — or middle —
household in a region); 30% of
the apartments are affordable
to extremely low and very lowincomes
between 30% - 50%
AMI.
From what I understand,
it will include 15% formerly
homeless. Also, the height and
density have been reduced
from 9 stories to 7 stories (the
7th story to be set back), with
a consequent reduction in
units, although the parking
(220 spaces) will remain the
same. Here I thank Councilman
Mark Gjonaj who negotiated
the reduction in height/
density in an effort to mitigate
the impact of the new construction
on the surrounding
community. As it is a brownfi
eld site (meaning contaminated
from former uses) the
fi rst thing will be a massive
cleanup of the site before any
construction can began.
Friends Cemetery
Friend’s Cemetery is an
11-story affordable housing
project. The Ad Hoc Committee
for the Preservation
of the Friend’s Cemetery in
Westchester Square has written
several letters to the counsel
for St. Peter’s Church
(which initiated the project to
lease the land to HPD, which
at the time was ‘as of right’
because of the extant zoning),
the Episcopal Bishop with jurisdiction
over the church,
and the NYC Landmarks Preservation
Commission. The issue
is whether the build site
land is 1) landmarked, and 2) a
cemetery with historical burials
possibly going back to the
late 1600s-early 1700s, when
there were two Friends Meeting
Houses nearby; one on the
site, and the other across the
street.
We have documents that attest
to these claims, including
a 1976 statement from the LPC
declaring part of Lot 6 (the
build site) to be landmarked
and maps going back to the
1860s showing the site as the
Friends Cemetery. We sent
these documents along with
our letters. Here is the followup:
The LPC, in a discussion
with Community Board 10
has declared that no part of
the build site is in fact landmarked
(although that is
clearly not according to their
own documentation). They
also say it is not a cemetery,
although it shows up on maps
and tax documents as a cemetery.
The church’s lawyer has
not responded directly to us,
but did respond to local media
saying that some kind of
boring or radar was done and
found nothing. Only Bishop
Dietsche responded to us via
email, and I summarize his
response here:
“Bishop Dietsche…is aware
that the proposed project of St.
Peter’s Episcopal Church and
its partners was identifi ed
by the Landmarks Preservation
Commission of the City
of New York as having potential
cultural sensitivity and
requiring a ‘Phase IA Sensitivity
Assessment,’ which was
recently completed. While a
2016 survey using ground-penetrating
radar found no evidence
of burials south of St.
Peter’s Drive, St. Peter’s Episcopal
Church will soon carry
out a ‘Phase IB Archaeological
Field Testing’ to make
sure that the proposed building
site shows no other sign of
cultural resources, including
unmarked graves. Bishop Dietsche
is awaiting the results
of that study before he makes
a fi nal decision whether to
consent to this project.”
We walked the site with a
reporter from NY1 the other
day. Our goal was and is to
fi nd out what/who is or is not
buried in Lot 6 before the backhoes
come and begin tearing
everything up.
However, now there is a
new wrinkle to this story. Last
month the Pastor of St. Peter’s
church came back to the community
board and asked for a
commercial overlay to be part
of the project, so there can be
storefronts, or whatever in
the building. This will trigger
the ULURP process and hearings
at Community Board 10,
which will allow the community
board and the public to offi
cially comment on this.
There will be a public hearing
on this sometime during
the summer. I invite other
civic groups, and anyone
who has an opinion on this
to please come and give testimony
on this. Apparently it is
another project, like Blondell
Commons, that the community
only found out about at
the 11th hour after years of behind
the scenes preparation.
The homeowners who will be
directly next to and most impacted
by these projects only
found out about them because
we told them about it, and
we only found out almost by
chance. It is very important
that the community speak up
at the hearing.
One last word on these affordable
housing projects,
which are happening all over
the Bronx. You can see row
after row of them from the 6
train; huge square buildings
jammed on top of one another.
The mayor is entering into
sweetheart deals with developers
and landlords (I won’t even
address the issue of the fat profits
they are getting from our tax
dollars not to mention the fact
that in the St. Peter’s case taxpayer
dollars are going to support
a failing church, which is
tax exempt because that rant
would take ten pages at least) to
build these buildings on a massive
scale.
It used to be that the ‘luxury’
buildings were the exception,
and housing was just
housing. What has changed?
Is it the greed of landlords?
The tax abatements and incentives
and subsidies as low
hanging fruit to make a new
category of ‘affordable housing’?
The buildings going up
are like Clockwork Orange
dystopian apartment blocks,
on a huge scale set in communities
that do not have the
resources to support them
(ie, schools, subway/bus capacity).
This is growth at its
worst: unplanned and motivated
by greed. There is a rational
way to build affordable
housing (the very term bothers
me) and to integrate it into
the existing community. Obviously
that is not quick or profitable
enough.
On another note, the following
is the WSZIO schedule
so far for the spring and summer:
Saturday, June 15, noon to
4 p.m., Fair at the Square, in
Westchester Square, Arts and
Crafts and Face Painting; Saturday,
June 15, 1 to 2 p.m., Father’s
Day Crafts, Westchester
Square Library, 2521 Glebe Avenue;
June 29: noon to 3 p.m.,
Throggs Neck Merchant Fair,
Face Painting and Arts and
Crafts; Saturday, July 13: noon
to 3:30 p.m., Family Fun Day,
Playground for All Children
in Pelham Bay Park, Arts and
Crafts and Face Painting; Saturdays
July 27, August 3,11 and
1, from noon to 4 p.m., Pearly
Gates Summer Program.
Also, now that our summer
program permit has been approved,
we are looking for a
counselor to help run it. Applicants
should be aged 16-18(ish).
Must be patient and like kids.
They will work with an experienced
person who has helped
run the program for the past
several years. Good opportunity
also for a student who
may need community credits.
This is a paid position ($17
an hour) for 16 hours on four
Saturdays: July 27 through
August 17. We will start interviews
in June if you know of
anyone interested. Contact us
via email wszio@aol.com.
And that’s all for now.
Happy belated Mother’s Day.
Every mother is a working
woman. TTFN.
BY ARLENE GRAUER
I hope you have noticed the
new planting on the triangle
by Providence Rest – compliments
of Country Club Civic’s
Public Improvements director
Tom Potenzo. This is a very
nice tribute to the Country
Club community.
As summer kicks off for
2019, it’s time to remember
that Memorial Day is a national
holiday because it honors
the men and women who
died while serving in the U.S.
military. My husband was
very fortunate to be chosen to
participate in the Hudson Valley
Honor Flight this weekend
and attended a very moving
ceremony at Arlington Cemetery.
Our community also has
a chance to show our appreciation
to our veterans. Poppies
will be distributed by
the American Legion Auxiliary
in front of St. Benedict’s
church before the 9 a.m. and
11 a.m. masses on May 19 and
May 26. Please take one and
wear it proudly. These poppies
are handmade by veterans for
veterans. All donations go directly
to assist disabled and
hospitalized veterans in our
communities.
Our next meeting will be
on Wednesday, May 22 and our
guest speaker will be Nanor
Pogosian, manager, Pelham
Bay Library who will speak
about the wonderful programs
that the library has to offer. In
June, we expect a presentation
from Fordham University regarding
their arrival and how
they will use the space.
As usual our meeting
will be held at the Villa Maria
Academy lunchroom, located
at 3335 Country Club
Road. The association can be
reached via mail at P.O. Box
211, Bronx, N.Y. 10465. Follow
and like us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/countryclubcivicassoc.
Please remember, ‘Take
pride in your community. Your
home extends beyond your
property line!’
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