Housing advocates push to expand Bronx rezoning

But some housing advocates are pushing the administration to expand the area covered by the plan, which spans neighborhoods including Morris Park and Parkchester — and say opportunities could be missed if officials move forward with its current scope.

The administration expects the plan to begin the roughly seven-month public review process in the second half of this year, and it recently released documents that lay out the proposed scope of potential land use changes. The new stations are expected to open in 2027.

The group Open New York, which advocates for policies to boost residential development, is raising concerns that the proposed area covered by the plan is “far too narrow to meet this moment,” and wants the city to incorporate areas near the future Morris Park station that were downzoned in recent decades to prohibit anything but one- and two-family homes.

“The areas that were downzoned should not have been, and the city needs to make that right now and rezone areas that have not been producing the housing that they need to be creating,” said Logan Phares, the organization's political director. “There are still so many places in the city that are not as dense as they could be that are close to transit.”

As Gov. Kathy Hochul pushes a plan to compel the suburbs around the city to build more housing along rail stations, Phares hopes the city does the same within its own borders.

“The mayor has been talking and thinking about housing, he’s said he supports transit-oriented development, so this is a really good opportunity for the city to put its money where its mouth is and say, ‘We want the suburbs to create more development but we also have work that we can do,'” she added.

Morris Park falls within the district of City Council Member Marjorie Velázquez, who would have significant sway over the plan under the Council’s practice of deferring to local members on land use issues. Velázquez, in a statement, expressed a generally favorable outlook on the plan, while adding that her focus “isn’t just on what one organization may want, but on what my community wants and what will work here.”

Planning department spokesperson Melissa Grace said the city was open to ideas.

“As we shape the Bronx Metro North proposal to go big in our efforts to create housing, we appreciate feedback from Open New York and others on the importance of creating housing, and income-restricted housing, to address our severe housing shortage. We look forward to working with the council, community members and advocates to ensure we get to the right result,” Grace said in a statement.

Article By:  Janaki Chadha and Danielle Muoio Dunn 

Photo By: Department of City Planning