Opponents send scathing
Mott Haven jail letter
“It is even more appropriate
to provide its The
Bronx jail’s own environmental
review since it has
a different purpose: it not
only includes the jail but
hundreds of units of affordable
housing, which should
require HPD to be named
an involved or interested
agency,” it had continued.
The letter also stated
that building this jail
should be contingent not
only on the involvement of
HPD but the determination
of what will happen to the
Vernon C. Bain jail barge
in Hunts Point as well.
“While there is a theoretical
common purpose/
goal for the four sites, there
is no actual timeline for
closing facilities on Rikers
Island or a determination
on the future of the Vernon
C. Bain Center,” it stated.
Parks also went after
the city for bundling its statistics
and fi ndings for the
four projects as one rather
than being broken up borough
by borough.
Calling that a “signifi -
cant risk,” the letter then
stated “for members of the
public interested in impacts
in the Bronx, for instance,
they may be confused fi nding
impacts disclosed for
another project in another
borough.”
Of course, it also called
out the fact that 320 Concord
Avenue is miles away from
the Bronx Hall of Justice on
East 161st Street while building
a facility adjacent to said
complex is another viable
option, which Bronx elected
offi cials Borough President
Ruben Diaz, Jr. and Congressman
Jose E. Serrano
both support.
“Further, this site causes
impacts by direct displacement
(the removal of the
NYC Police Department tow
pound), the environmental
impacts of which are not
studied,” the letter stated as
well.
Parks and her team at
Diego Beekman are considering
a lawsuit against the
city based on what the letter
called “a fl awed environmental
review” along with the effects
the prison will have on
Mott Haven and the entire
borough of the Bronx.
cobi Medical Center and
Montefi ore Hospital.
Gjonaj said the plan,
which was opposed by Community
Board 11 and would
reduce the number of travel
lanes along the busy roadway
in each direction from two to
one while adding a vehicle
turning lane and bicycle
lanes, would be another nail
in the coffi n of the 200 small
businesses in the area.
Bronx Chamber of Commerce’s
president, Lisa
Sorin, said that after a year
of meeting with local businesses,
the chamber concluded
that implementing a
‘road diet’ would be harmful
to the Morris Park small
business community.
Business owner Robert
Ferrito of RMF Electric,
said that based on the Vision
Zero initiatives he has
seen implemented around
the city, he believes the proposal
would back up traffi c
by constraining it.
“I think it will add more
congestion to the commercial
corridor,” said Ferrito.
Additionally, Al
D’Angelo, MPCA president
believes that traffi c will
spill onto the residential
side streets as motorists try
to avoid the Morris Park
Avenue bottleneck, creating
unsafe conditions for area
youngsters and disturbing
the relative calm of those
tree-lined blocks.
He pointed out that other
than Gjonaj, it doesn’t appear
that city offi cials, including
Mayor de Blasio,
appear to be listening to the
will of the community on
the issue.
Staggering the avenue’s
many traffi c lights would
dramatically slow down
traffi c on Morris Park Avenue,
he offered as another
option to the road diet plan.
A 2-mile stretch of Morris
Park Avenue from Eastchester
Road to East 180th
Street is included in the-
DOT’s road diet plan.
Recent data collected by
the city agency indicated
that injury-related accidents
have decreased on the
main thoroughfare.
Morris Park Avenue,
which is now safer for pedestrians
then previously
studies indicated, should
be delisted as a Vision Zero
priority corridor, said the
councilman.
While the latest facts
support Gjonaj’s sentiment,
a DOT spokesperson said
there is still a speeding
problem on Morris Park Avenue.
“There have been a number
of high profi le fatalities
and/or crashes on the corridor
in the last few years
– including a motorcyclist
fatality at Morris Park Avenue
and Van Buren Street
in August 2018 and an incident
in April 2018 where
a vehicle drove into a restaurant
and injured three
people,” stated the spokesperson.
“This plan will help
save lives,” she pointed out,
while defending the DOT’s
push to make the road diet
a reality.
www.BXTimes.com BRONX WEEKLY April 7, 2019 4
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MEMBER:
from Page 1
from Page 1
MP road diet rally: safety facts
don’t support DOT analysis
Councilman Mark Gjonaj, in announcing a petition in opposition to a proposed road diet for Morris Park
Avenue, speaks before an assembled group at a rally on Monday, April 1. Schneps Media / Patrick Rocchio
www.bxtimes.com Parks (c) on the steps of City Hall protesting the jail with Borough President Diaz (2nd from r).
Schneps Media/Alex Mitchell
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