Residents decry Villa Ave. quality of life
Longtime residents complain of drug users, homeless people, garbage
BY JASON COHEN
For many years, Villa Avenue
in Bedford Park was a quiet
Italian community. But years
later, people have expressed
concerns about how the neighborhood
has changed.
Anthony Rivieccio, 59, a 35-
year resident of Bedford Park,
told the Bronx Times that the
neighborhood was always considered
“suburbia.”
“It had been that way until
the last 20 years,” he said.
Now full of drugs, garbage
and homeless people, he said
that it seems the community
has done a 180.
Rivieccio contacted the police,
but was told due to budget
cuts, quality of life issues are
simply “on the bottom of the
totem pole right now.”
He felt that some of drug
use was the result of Project
Renewal men’s shelter at 3114
Villa Ave., but stressed that
the project is not to blame for
everything.
Rivieccio has also spoken
at community board and precinct
council meetings, yet
nothing has changed.
“It’s almost reminded me
of the 1970s,” he said. “I understand
we can’t go back to the
way the neighborhood used to
be.”
Fellow Bedford Park resident
Shannon Gilstand shared
his concerns. Gilstand, 37,
said things have really gotten
worse within the last fi ve
years.
Gilstand told the Bronx
Times that she spoke with
Community Board 7 District
Manager Ischia Bravo about
this and was told it is a borough
AM Dinowitz fi ghts to keep Chase Bank open
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,36 OCTOBER 16-22, 2020 BTR
wide issue.
According to Gilstand,
Villa Avenue was a working
class neighborhood, but today
is fi lled with abandoned and
demolished buildings and tons
of drug use. She often sees men
drinking under scaffolding
and others coming down off of
heroine.
In fact, her husband noticed
several cars were broken into
and an called the cops. Since
none of the vehicles belonged
to him, police said there was
nothing they could do.
“I can’t remember the last
time I’ve seen cops on Villa
Avenue,” she commented. “I
don’t know what more can be
done.”
In addition to Project Renewal,
Gilstand claimed that
3188 Villa Ave., also known
as Villa House, is said to be
getting its residents from NYCHA
lists and also has drug
treatment programs.
Gilstand expressed disgust
that these buildings were being
knocked down and sold
to developers who create shelters
or affordable housing,
which are ultimately decreasing
property values for homeowners.
She noted that most of the
people on the street are not
just homeless, but are also
drug addicts.
“These types of developments
are being concentrated
in certain communities,” she
said. “This will affect us for
generations. Meanwhile, on
the Upper West Side, the rich
got a lawyer and sued the city
for turning hotels into temporary
shelters for COVID. This
is what we face in the Bronx
and have for the better part of
fi ve decades.”
The scaffolding where Shannon Gilstand has seen people drinking. Photos courtesy of Shannon Gilstand
BY JASON COHEN
JPMorgan Chase, a multinational
corporation that
generated over $115 billion of
net revenue in 2019, is planning
to close the only bank in
Knolls Crescent.
But Assemblyman Jeffrey
Dinowitz isn’t letting the
bank closure go down without
a fi ght, sending the company
a formal request to keep
the Chase branch open indefinitely.
“It would be unconscionable
for Chase to close the only
bank in Knolls Crescent during
the middle of what we expect
to be a resurgence of the
COVID-19 pandemic, forcing
vulnerable populations to
use mass transit and risk exposure
to a deadly virus just
to get their money from the
bank,” Dinowitz said.
Knolls Crescent is located
in the southwestern corner
of Riverdale and is bound by
Henry Hudson Parkway, the
Harlem River and the former
JFK High School campus. It
has a high concentration of
people over 80-years-old and
is built around the Knolls
Crescent shopping center
where Chase is the only fi -
nancial institution within
walking distance for people
who have limited mobility.
On Oct. 6, residents received
a notice from Chase
that the branch located at
13B Knolls Crescent will
close Dec. 30. The closest
other Chase branches are at
5881 Broadway and 3775 Riverdale
Ave., but topographically
would require a car,
bus or paratransit vehicle to
transport someone living in
Knolls Crescent to use their
bank.
“This is a corporation
that makes billions and billions
of dollars every year,
and it would be shameful for
them to deny our community
what should be a basic public
service just because it wasn’t
making them enough money
to stay open,” Dinowitz said.
“I hope that this decision was
an oversight from their operations
department and, once
they are aware of the hyperlocal
details of our community,
the decision will be reversed.”
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is fi ghting to keep Chase Bank open at Knolls Crescent.
Courtesy of Offi ce of AM Dinowitz