BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
The Belmont and East Tremont
sections of the Bronx are
some of the busiest areas in the
borough, but also part of one of
New York City’s biggest food deserts
with 37 bodegas for every one
supermarket, according to the
city Department of Health.
On Nov. 10, Bronx Community
Board 6 will decide whether
to grant a request from a longtime
local developer for the construction
of a ground-floor level supermarket
in a proposed affordable
housing project in Fordham’s Belmont
section.
But the addition of a supermarket,
if approved, would come
at the expense of 59 parking spots
nearby, which has drawn the
ire of Belmont residents that say
parking is already scarce in the
area.
“My head is exploding. Because
there is already no parking
to be found anywhere in Belmont,”
said Mary Ellen Devito, a
longtime Belmont homeowner,
at the Oct. 21 CB6 Land Use Committee
meeting. “We’re already
congested to death”
The need for public parking
has been an ongoing issue in the
CB6 region, as parking space accounts
for roughly 5% of land use
in the area, according to CB6’s
district needs statement.
The proposed 11-story building,
which would be constructed
at 660 E. Fordham Road, is bringing
a total of 145 proposed dwelling
units to the area, 20% of
which — 28 units — would be affordable
under the city’s inclusionary
housing program.
The ground floor supermarket
could become a C-Town, after
officials from C-Town Supermarkets
sent Shahadi Development,
the owner of the proposed project,
a non-binding letter of interest
to be a potential tenant of the
near 500 square-foot ground-level
space in June.
The addition of a supermarket
is a part of the city’s Food Retail
Expansion to Support Health
Program (FRESH). FRESH offers
zoning and tax incentives
to encourage developers to build
more supermarkets in high-need
neighborhoods that face barriers
to food access.
The rollout of FRESH hasn’t
gone as smoothly as anticipated,
however. Most FRESH applications
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, O 2 CT. 29-NOV. 4, 2021 BTR
have been in Harlem and
Bedford-Stuyvesant, leaving
out vast areas of the city like the
Bronx, which has 62% of its residents
suffering from food insecurity,
according to NYC Health
Data.
Land Use Committee Chair
Frank Franz said that while he
“loves” the plan, he expressed
reticence on eliminating parking.
“I take real issue with your assessment
of parking … as many
of our members know, parking
in this area is at a premium already,”
he told developers at the
Oct. 21 meeting. “At Belmont, we
constantly fight with the DOT
(Department of Transportation)
for parking spaces..”
Developer Sean Daneshvar
defended his vision to committee
members and staunchly opposed
Belmont residents at the Oct. 21
meeting.
“I had a dream that I am to
change the face of Belmont, because
right now when you look at
it, you have garages, car washes
and tattoo places,” said Daneshvar,
who mentioned that he’s invested
“millions of dollars” into Fordham
“My head is exploding ... because there is no parking to be found anywhere
in Belmont,” said Mary Ellen Devito, a longtime Belmont resident who
is opposed to the construction of a ground-fl oor supermarket within a
housing development at 660-668 E. Fordham Road.
Rendering courtesy JFrankl
Road over the last seven years. “To
me, it’s embarrassing to have those
(storefronts) near Arthur Avenue,
and my dream is to spend more
money to build an incredible building
in Belmont.”
Danveshar said that roughly
1200 parking spots in the adjacent
Fordham area exist, but are being
underutilized by residents. According
to development company
officials, parking spots are already
available at the subject site on 660
East Fordham Road, mostly accessible
from Cambreleng Avenue,
as well as on adjacent streets and
properties.
However, Franz those numbers
weren’t accurate because it
included private parking lots and
didn’t account for traffic congestion
from nearby Fordham University
and the New York State DMV office,
located at 696 E. Fordham Road.
If approved, the structure will
comprise 160,163 square feet.
Tensions arise over Belmont
supermarket proposal
Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans
$0 or Low Cost Plan Premiums
Health plan options for those with:
• Medicare
• Medicare and Medicaid
• A Medicaid Advantage Plus (MAP)
Call for eligibility and enrollment Count on us...
to help you Age Well
in New York.
All Original Medicare Benefits
(Part A and B)
Full Prescription Drug Coverage
(Part D)
Dental, Vision and Hearing
Over-the-Counter Card (OTC)
Acupuncture
Telehealth and Telemonitoring
Services
Transportation
Access to Care Managers and
Wellness Coaches
Personal Care
Worldwide Emergency/
Urgent Care Services
Plan for those who need community
based long term care services
and supports in the home
agewellnewyork.com>
1-718-696-0206
TTY/TDD 1-800-662-1220
7 days a week from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm
AgeWell New York, LLC is an HMO/HMO D-SNP plan with Medicare and NY State Medicaid contracts. Enrollment in AgeWell New York, LLC depends on
contract renewal. AgeWell New York complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of races, color, national
origin, age, disability, or sex. AgeWell New York cumple con las leyes federales de derechos civiles aplicables y no discrimina por motivos de raza, color,
nacionalidad, edad, discapacidad o sexo. DOH Approved 9/23/21 H4922_COYWB22_M Accepted 9/28/21
/agewellnewyork.com