CB 10 approves rezoning for
Bartow Avenue’s billboard problem
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A majority of Community
Board 10 members on Thursday,
October 17 approved a rezoning
application for 500 Baychester
Avenue, where Co-op
City residents up in arms over
a large electronic billboard
that shines into their apartments.
Following the NYC Planning
Department’s proposal to
remedy the issue, board members
voted 25-4 with one abstention
to change the zoning
on a parcel of land from C-7 to
C8-2 for the land, according to
CB 10 district manager, Matthew
Cruz.
However the zoning
change, when approved, will
only regulate future projects.
It’s been two years since
Co-op City residents, elected
offi cials and CB 10 members
have been advocating for the
removal of the three advertising
billboards, located on a
developed site owned by Baychester
Retail III LLC.
But the new ordinance will
not stop the current crop of
billboards that have already
been approved from preceeding,
said CPC.
One of monopoles is slated
to rise several hundred feet
if it conforms to NYC Department
of Buildings regulations.
“We’re pleased that the city
is doing its best to rectify the
matter and at least give the
community the opportunity
to move on from this matter,”
Matt Cruz, district manager
of CB 10 said.
The property was formerly
occupied by a gas station and
now houses several retail tenants,
including a 7-Eleven convenience
Williams paint store and a
still vacant spot.
While the corner property
is technically not in Co-op
City, it does border the complex.
The parcel has a high
zoning since it sits on the
former grounds of Freedomland,
an amusement park that
closed in 1965.
Its C-7 zoning allows the
construction of monopoles
without any height or size lilitations
to be legally built. An
WE HAVE
FAITH IN HER
FUTURE
store, a Sherwin-
adjacent site occupied by a
Men’s Warehouse would also
downsized.
The monopole (on the right) has no height or size restrictions. File photo
PRESTON HIGH SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE November 3, 2019 • 11am–2pm
2780 Schurz Avenue, Bronx, NY 10465 • 718-863-9134 • PrestonHS.org
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, O 22 CTOBER 25-31, 2019 BTR
“Fifty years ago, the city
forgot or neglected to downzone
the property. The current
property owner, two or three
years ago, fi led with the Department
of Buildings to erect
these gigantic advertisement
or billboard platforms,” Cruz
added.
In March 2018, the Board of
Standards and Appeals halted
construction on the massive
monopole with a supersized
LED advertising sign that
would have joined two smaller
signs already built at the corner
of Bartow and Baychester
avenues.
Residents have complained
about the disruptive
bright lights that keep
some awake at night, and
the billboard’s liquor advertisement,
which shines into
Educational Park visible to
children.
A representative of the
property owner had urged
Cruz to encourage Co-op City
residents to get used to the
new signage.
At the City Planning Commission
Special Meeting held
on Monday, September 23, an
offi cial said that the rezoning
to C8-2 will better serve community
needs.
“We looked at several
things in trying to identify an
appropriate commercial district
that doesn’t allow residential
was a part of our consideration,”
the offi cial said.
“That’s how this district was
identifi ed, it matches what’s
there now.”
The rezoning application
will be sent to the Bronx borough
president’s offi ce for an
offi cial opinion.
/PrestonHS.org