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Diving certificate:
- The New York City Council last week approved a zoning plan that the council said would create nearly 7,000 new housing units in the Bronx borough near four planned commuter rail stations. The East Bronx, where the new stations are to be built, is often referred to as a “transit desert.”
- The zoning plan allows residential development in areas currently zoned for commercial and manufacturing. The city also plans to invest approximately $500 million in pedestrian infrastructure, renovate parks and playgrounds, and upgrade local public schools.
- Construction on the stations began in 2022. Work along the existing Amtrak line through the Bronx – part of the New York City-Boston route – began last year. This will allow MTA’s Metro-North New Haven Line trains to serve Penn Station in Manhattan, also connecting Bronx residents to destinations in northern New York’s Westchester County and Connecticut.
Diving insight:
According to a 2022 report by the New York State Comptroller, the Bronx has the highest poverty rate of the five boroughs at 24.4%. From 2014 to 2022, relatively little affordable housing was built in the Bronx. The zoning plan will help create 1,700 permanent income-restricted apartments, according to the New York City Mayor’s Office.
“This groundbreaking initiative will benefit our borough by not only creating thousands of new jobs and improving public transit for commuters, but also providing the East Bronx with much-needed housing units as well as community resources and public space improvements in adjacent corridors,” Bronx Chamber of Commerce President Lisa Sorin said in a statement. Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson called the rezoning plan “a significant step forward in solving our housing shortage.”
The MTA’s four new stations are scheduled to be completed by 2027. However, the impact of the state’s suspension of the Manhattan congestion charge on the transit agency’s capital program is still unclear. The MTA said at its June board meeting that without funding from the program, it would have to postpone $16.5 billion worth of planned projects. During the July 31 board meeting, MTA Chief Financial Officer Kevin Willens said the organization had not yet considered the impact of the congestion charge suspension but would update the board at its November meeting.
