cided on Mott Haven, a site
next to the Bronx Hall of
Justice was also being considered.
The inspiration to release
the opposition ad a
year after the site was fi rst
announced is because the
uniform land use review
process (ULURP) for all the
borough facilities will be
heard in March.
For now, Parks and Diego
Beekman are aiming
to have the Bronx part of
the plan given a separate
ULURP hearing.
The Mott Haven community
and South Bronx Coalition
also created an online
petition at Change.org titled
“Stop Mayor de Blasio’s
Plan to Build a New Jail in
the south Bronx,” which
has over 2,530 signatures
already.
Nash, a lifelong resident
of Concord Avenue and a
member of Community
Board 1, said , “My family
is concerned for my safety
if they build it here.” He
lives across the street from
the site.
“I was born here, I lived
my entire life here and I’m
going to die here,” Nash recently
said, cementing his
commitment to Mott Haven
and stopping the jail.
“We’re going to fi ght,
fi ght, fi ght,” he said.
Nash worked closely with
Parks and others to develop
Diego Beekman’s own largescale
affordable housing project
for the NYPD tow yard.
That affordable housing
proposal would have split the
superblock containing the
current tow pound into two
halves, creating two distinct
blocks, while expanding adjacent
Wales Avenue as a
vehicular street that would
run through the new development
down into East 141st
Street.
Major parts of the redevelopment
include converting
the NYPD grounds and
surrounding block into
533 housing units spread
throughout 12 individual
buildings.
Alaya has said earlier
that she doesn’t believe
that the jail plan and one
for affordable housing have
to be mutually exclusive of
one another.
Borough President
Ruben Diaz, Jr. and Congressman
Jose E. Serrano
formed an ‘anti Mott Haven
jail’ coalition called Justice
for the Bronx.
To watch the video, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=nCBtJXtl5r
part of the land in the lot
in question, known as lot
6, is protected in a 1976
landmarking of St. Peter’s
Church and its churchyard.
Tom Vasti, a member
of the group and an East
Bronx History Forum offi
cer, said the construction
site was a Quaker meeting
hall into the 19th century,
which is evidenced in maps
from the 1800s.
According to historical
records, there could be a
17th century burial ground,
and another record contains
at least 75 burials, according
to burial list dating
back to the 1850s, he said.
Sandi Lusk, a committee
member, said that a group
of the amateur historians
and community activists
which include members of
her group, the Westchester
Square Zerega Improvement
Organization, believes
that Quaker site was
sold to St. Peter’s Church in
the 1920s with the explicit
condition that the Quaker
burial ground at the location
would be maintained
by the church.
“We asked LPC to visit,”
said Lusk. “There is a lot of
confusion as to whether the
lot is landmarked.”
The committee asked
LPC to determine where exactly
the landmarked area
of St. Peter’s Church and
its graveyard starts and
ends, an archeological survey
to determine if any remains
are in the ground at
the proposed development
site at 2450 Westchester Avenue,
and an unequivocal
confi rmation from church
lawyers that the site is not
landmarked and contains
no remains.
The St. Peter’s Episcopal
landmarking documents in
1976 defi ne the landmarked
area as Lot 18, where the
church is located, and part
of Lot 6 “extending from the
western boundary of the
cemetery from Westchester
Avenue to Butler Place.”
On the document there
is a handwritten drawing
with what appear to be
measurements of the lots
and surrounding area, but
this doesn’t appear to give
a clear indication to the layperson
as to what is landmarked.
In response to the Ad Hoc
Committee’s letter, the LPC
stated it has been in touch
with St. Peter’s Episcopel
and that it is its understanding
that the proposed development
is not on the landmarked
portion of Lot 6.
“Additionally, LPC will
review the drawings for
the new building to make
sure the proposed development
is off of the landmark
site,” stated the LPC spokeswoman.
“We have also spoken
to the church about archaeologically
testing the
site to avoid burials.”
An attorney for the
church stated in response
to a Bronx Times inquiry
concerning the Ad Hoc
Committee’s letter that the
church has been a vital part
of Westchester Square since
its founding in 1693, and
wants to be very clear on the
concerns raised.
“St. Peter’s takes its responsibility
as the steward
of its cemetery and surrounding
land very seriously,
and no development
has or will occur on any
burial grounds – Quaker or
otherwise,” said St. Peter’s
attorney. “The church and
its team have already undertaken
extensive efforts
to ensure this, including
reviewing land use records
and archives, testing the
ground with radar technology
and consulting with the
Landmarks Preservation
Commission.”
The attorney stated in
summary that the committee’s
documents “do not provide
any new information,”
and because they are documents
designating administrative
boundaries, they do
not provide any indication
or location of actual burial
sites.
“The church and its team
have spent great time and
effort to gather far more information
than is provided
in these administrative documents,”
said St. Peter’s attorney.
“Our investigations
confi rm that there are no
burial plots in the development
site.”
The attorney added:
“For clarity, before any construction
begins, we will
independently confi rm our
fi ndings. A third-party archaeological
investigation
is being undertaken prior
to any development and we
fully expect that this will
confi rm our conclusions.”
Preliminary plans for a
11-story apartment complex
built in two phases and containing
a total of approximately
363 apartments were
presented to Community
Board 10 at a Monday, January
7 committee meeting.
According to a previous
Bronx Times report on this
subject, the church is looking
to lease part of its property
near Herschell Street
for 99 years so that it can
raise funds it needs to support
itself and remain in
the community for the long
term.
CB 10’s Housing and Zoning
Committee didn’t take
any actions at the meeting
because plans seemed preliminary
and still fl uid, according
to board members.
Construction company
The Bluestone Organization
was not available for comment.
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MEMBER:
from Page 1
from Page 1
St Peter’s: No bodies found;
Landmarks’ ask for confi rmation
Elevated view of the Mott Haven tow pound. Schneps Community News Group/ Alex Mitchell
Mott Haven’s Diego Beekman
releases 47-second anti-jail video
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