DEP reverses empty basin call on Jerome Pk. Reservoir
200-bed homeless shelter coming to Blondell Ave.: DHS
The property at 1400 Blondell Avenue as is. The property has been sited to become a homeless shelter fi t for
200 single adult males. Photo by Steven Goodstein/Schneps Media
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, JANUARY 3 BTR 1-FEBRUARY 6, 2020 3
BY JASON COHEN
After outcries from the
public, the NYC Department
of Environmental Protection
has now changed their tune on
keeping the Jerome Park Reservoir
basin empty.
According to a DEP spokesperson,
“The DEP has heard
the concerns of the community
and their elected offi cials
and we are happy to report
that we will make it a priority
to keep water in Jerome Park
Reservoir’s North Basin.”
In October, the DEP sent a
letter claiming that the agency’s
intention to leaving the
north basin of the Jerome
Park Reservoir empty didn’t
require an environmental impact
study.
The spokesman added that
if required to facilitate a capital
project, the basin might be
drained temporarily.
In January 2018, DEP announced
the start of a $15 million
project to rehabilitate
gatehouses, install new, lower
fencing and upgrade security
infrastructure at the reservoir.
Work on the project began
late in 2018, will continue
The basin of Jerome Park Reservoir is presently empty. Schneps Media Jason Cohen
through 2021 and will help to
ensure the long-term reliability
of the city’s Croton water
supply system.
Elected offi cials and activists
are pleased with the latest
decision. Though some feel it’s
too good to be true.
“We have heard from DEP
that they will give priority to
keeping the reservoir fi lled,
however we are waiting to see
this is writing,” said Debra
Travis of Friends of Jerome
Park.
“They have not rescinded
their negative declaration,”
she added.
Co-chair of the Community
Board 8 Environment
and Sanitation Committee
Robert Fanuzzi shares Travis’
sentiments and wants to know
if the letter the DEP sent saying
the basin didn’t need to be
fi lled will be rescinded.
“I’m reading the report
that the DEP is reconsidering
its plan for the Jerome Park
Reservoir north basin and
look forward to hearing more
at the next meeting,” he said.
The next environment and
sanitation committee meeting
is in February.
Councilman Andrew Cohen
said he and Assemblyman
Jeffrey Dinowitz heard
the cries from the community
and advocated on their behalf.
Cohen told the Bronx Times it
would have been an eyesore to
leave the basin empty.
Prior to this decision, residents
and activists started a
petition last week demanding
a full basin.
Some of the groups that
started the petition include Jerome
Park Friends and Neighbors,
Fort Independence Park
Neighborhood Association
and Bronx Council for Environmental
Quality.
“Why are we against emptying
the North Basin of the
Reservoir?” the petition reads
as the community groups outline
their reasons:
• The beauty of the Jerome
Park Reservoir is a central
feature of our neighborhood.
• Its beauty increases the
property values of homes and
co-ops in our community.
• A full reservoir supports
our health by cooling our air;
an almost-empty basin breeds
mosquitoes and other insects.
• The plan to cover the historic
wall of the reservoir with
concrete will ruin its historic
character.
“We ask . . . that the Department
of Environmental Protection
rescind their Modifi ed
Negative Declaration on CEQR
17DEP022X. We ask that the
agency consider alternatives to
draining the North Basin, and
continue to keep the Jerome
Park Reservoir’s North and
South Basins full of water.”
BY KYLE VUILLE
A plan to house 200 homeless
adult men at 1400 Blondell
Avenue, one block from
Westchester Square, by the
NYC Department of Homeless
Services, was confi rmed on
Wednesday January 29.
The unwelcome news was
reported by Councilman Mark
Gjonaj, Community Board 10
district manager Matt Cruz and
Community Board 11 district
manager Jeremy Warneke.
Councilman Gjonaj released
a statement via social
media that stated:
“I have been informed by
the city of an intended proposal
to place a 200-bed men’s shelter
at 1400 Blondell Avenue in the
13th Council District. I will be
fi ghting ‘tooth and nail’ on behalf
of the community to prevent
this from happening. As of
right now, we are evaluating all
options including zoning and
others with Bronx community
boards 10 and 11.”
Cruz later stated in an
email, the potential shelter’s location
on that block of Blondell
is physically within CB 11’s
district, however CB 10 rep-
resents the neighborhood of
Westchester Square, making it
both board’s responsibilities.
The vacant parcel, sits on
the eastern side of Blondell, off
Roberts Avenue in CB 11, but
straddles CB 10.
According to CB 11’s
monthly report, during an earlier
meeting with Care for the
Homeless executive director
George Nashak, Warnake was
told the mayor’s offi ce assigned
Nashak to fi nd a site for a 200-
bed men’s shelter. Some members
of the community are not
surprised by the city’s actions.
They feel the underdeveloped
area is extremely vulnerable
to residential development
of any kind.
“The property, being towards
the end of Blondell, has
no police presence and it’s in a
commercial area,” John Bonizio,
of the Westchester Square
Business Improvement District,
said.
He suspects the city’s selection
of this particular site
was guided by the mayor’s ulterior
motive to punish a certain
elected offi cial who has
bumped heads with him over
the last two years.
“I think there’s no coincidence
that this shelter is sited
around the corner from Councilman
Mark Gjonaj’s offi ce
because the mayor doesn’t like
him,” Bonizio said.
The director of Westchester
Square/Zerega Avenue Improvement
Organization, Sandi
Lusk, said she has no doubt the
shelter will happen.
Lusk said the zoning in the
area was changed in preparation
for the upcoming affordable
housing units, ‘Blondell
Commons,’ that is set to be built
one block north of Westchester
Avenue. That project will set
aside a portion of its units for
formerly homeless veterans.
“Now the city is picking
Westchester Square apart like
a pack of vultures and all that’s
going to be left is a skeleton,”
Lusk said. “How much more
does one community have to
take?”
According to Gjonaj’s
spokesperson, Reginald Johnson,
the fi ght to block a shelter
at 1400 Blondell Avenue
might actually be helped by
the Blondell Commons development,
which will include a
school.
Will the city put a homeless
shelter fi lled with male transients
a block or two away from
a schoolyard full of young children?
The community will have a
chance to publicly express its
feelings at the next CB 10 and 11
full board meetings.