Riverdale’s ONLY Locally Owned Newspaper!
Volume XX • Number 8 • February 21 - 27, 2013 •
FREE!
Hebrew Home presents expansion plan details By PAULETTE SCHNEIDER According to Hebrew Home at Riverdale CEO Daniel Reingold, an amenity-filled continuing care retirement community on the home’s spectacular 32-acre campus will be just what the doctor ordered when Riverdalians and Manhattanites of a certain age decide it’s time to sell their houses or co-ops and settle into a more supportive lifestyle. But homeowners within eyeshot of the riverfront campus claim that the proposed development of a CCRC—with its 300-unit residential complex spread across several multi-story buildings—can’t avoid ruining the neighborhood they cherish for its open space, scenic views and very low-density zoning. Earlier this month, locals aired their thoughts on the $200 million-plus project at the second of two community meetings held at the Hebrew Home in a room festooned with plan schematics and photos of a thriving senior community—like the one proposed—built by project developer Perkins Eastman. Experts on zoning, site-specific architecture, vehicular traffic and environmental issues were available for questions and discussion. Several of the 14 neighbors who attended voiced objections to the current plan, with its trio of buildings at eight, six and four stories high. Suggestions have included additional structures on the home’s original lot and fewer on the adjacent 14-acre lot, purchased in 2011 for $16 million from the Passionist Fathers of Riverdale. The existing plan also calls for the conversion of 150 beds now in the home’s skilled nursing care facility into 75 studio apartments designed for assisted living. Reingold said it’s definitely “worth looking into” a combination of additional construction on what’s now called the north campus and possibly more than three lower-rise buildings on the south campus. He discounted the idea of a single 20-story building because such a tower would never meet with neighborhood approval, though it would be advantageous—for the seniors, in that it would call for less walking from apartments to common areas; for the site, in that it would allow the most open space; and for the Hebrew Home, in that it would cost far less to build. But a viable plan will likely call for a change in zoning on the south campus from its present low-density R1-1 designa-
Architect’s model of the proposed Hebrew Home expansion. On the right is the existing campus, on the left is the recently-acquired property and proposed new construction. tion to a higher-density R-4 status, like the north campus. Community pressure recently got Community Board 8 to downgrade the 14-acre parcel from R1-2 to the more restrictive R1-1. Against this backdrop, the proposed zoning upgrade and its attendant reduction in required open space remains the “number-one issue” for plan opponents, Reingold acknowledged.
Among these opponents is the recently formed Riverdale Community Coalition, led by Jennifer Klein. “RCC‘s position is that any development of the former Passionist Retreat property should, among other considerations, conform to the existing R1-1 zoning and Special Natural Area District regulations” Klein wrote in an email. “We Continued on Page 9
Diaz’ State of Borough speech predicts new ‘age of success’ for The Bronx
By MIAWLING LAM The Bronx is ushering in a new age of success and prosperity, advancing the idea of a New Bronx and changing the public’s perceptions of the borough. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. delivered the bold statement during his fourth State of the Borough address last Tuesday. Speaking in front of nearly 1,000 people at James Monroe High School in Soundview, Diaz said the borough was witnessing tremendous change and creating a so-called New Bronx. “The New Bronx is a place where crime continues to drop to record lows,” he said. “The New Bronx is a place with stellar infrastructure, and a willing workforce.
“The New Bronx is a place that saw almost $1.5 billion of new investment last year, and more than $4.5 billion since 2009. The New Bronx is a place where we have helped to create or retain thousands of new jobs, and will create thousands more.” During his 4,500-word speech, Diaz addressed the key issues of economic development, environment, health, education and tourism. He even proposed the creation of a new online gun crime registry, which would require perpetrators of gun violence to inform the police of their living and employment arrangements. The registry would impose reporting requirements similar to convicted sex offenders. “Law-abiding citizens ought to
know who among us is responsible for gun violence, and this initiative will do just that,” he said. On the economic development front, Diaz said The Bronx has built on its previous successes, and last year secured a total of 18 projects, totaling $550 million. He claimed the projects would help retain and or create more than 5,000 permanent jobs and thousands of construction jobs. Among the major projects currently underway is Montefiore Medical Center’s $230 million office tower in the Hutchinson Metro Center, the $270 million expansion of the Bay Plaza shopping center in Eastchester, the development of two separate shopping malls in Kingsbridge and the long-awaited development at the
Kingsbridge Armory. Although Diaz made scant reference to the Armory during the speech, political insiders said an announcement on the issue was imminent. Officials from the city’s Economic Development Corporation are currently tossing up between the Kingsbridge National Ice Center proposal, which would offer nine regulation-size hockey rinks and a 5,000-seat arena, and a $100 million, Chelsea Market-style retail development featuring a 4D cinema complex and the world’s tallest rock climbing wall. Retail and wholesale food businesses were also beginning to take notice of The Bronx, Diaz said. In addition to attracting online grocer FreshDirect to relocate from Long Island City to the Harlem Riv-
er Yards, The Bronx recently lured six other food companies to the borough—Krinos Food, Foodfest Depot, R Best Produce, a FineFair supermarket, Big Farm Corporation and a new Fairway bakery. “And when the Hunts Point Produce Market renovation is finally underway, the Bronx food industry will continue its undisputed role as the bread basket of the tri-state area and a super-generator of jobs,” Diaz said. In order to entice domestic and international visitors to The Bronx, the elected official vowed to expand the borough’s existing tourism programs, as well as introduce new ones. In the coming weeks, he said he would also announce the formation of Continued on Page 5