BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A BTR UG. 6-12, 2021 37
BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
Rampant over-developments
and subsequent As of
Right builds endanger lowdensity
communities. The recent
Throggs Neck Associates
LLC proposal to aggressively
upzone four segments along
Bruckner Boulevard, from
Crosby to Gifford avenues and
de-map Meyers Street will
threaten another suburbanlike
enclave. A proposed eightstory
building at the current
Food Town site is a key component
of this complex 35-parcel,
four-building upzone plan,
slated to house 1,100 residents.
The Bruckner Boulevard
upzone proposed by Throggs
Neck Associates LLC is a potential
community changer. If
permitted, the R-6 upzone will
forever erase segments of lowdensity
areas from city maps;
their quaintness, charms and
appeal from hearts and minds.
Throggs Neck Associates LLC
recently presented approximately
300 pages of information
to the community. The
project timeline suggests a 2025
“build year” and possible fast
track approval prior to term expirations
of current City Council,
borough president and
mayor. However, project approval
could await November’s
newly elected in January.
Community opposition to
the aggressive upzone came
swiftly. Petitions, letters,
phone calls and social media
statements led to news coverage
with displays of community
support from former
Councilman James Vacca and
Community Board 10 District
Manager Matt Cruz. As of this
writing, a soft statement issued
by current Councilman
Mark Gjonaj was operatic in
comparison to library room
silences of council candidates
Marjorie Velazquez and Alex
Mici. Uncertainty and tightlipped
council candidates have
bewildered residents. Our
communities yearn for strong
statements of support as they
ponder both their fates and
Gjonaj’s successor.
This aggressive bomb like
upzone was dropped on Waterbury
LaSalle’s Bruckner
Boulevard perimeter. The Waterbury
La Salle Civic Association
is now spearheading a
multiple-community effort to
thwart this heinous act of investor
greed before community
need. Petition drives, rallies
and news events are being
planned. The current political
climate has created a dire need
for inter-community unifi cations.
Political, social and personal
differences must be cast
aside. In this “we before me”
endeavor, selfl essness must
supersede selfi shness. American
industrialist Henry Ford
stated, “Coming together is the
beginning. Keeping together is
progress. Working together is
success.”
Zoning regulations are a
community’s ultimate protection
against overdevelopment.
If an upzone can happen here,
or there, it can happen anywhere.
To paraphrase the late,
esteemed former Councilman
Michael DeMarco, lose your
zoning, lose your community.
If we want to keep and reap the
blessings of our fi ne quality of
life, we must endure the fatigue
of supporting it.
Bruckner up zone project
points of interest
A land use document fi led
by Throggs Neck Associates
LLC and signed by J. Bivona
to the Hon. Marisa Lago, chair
of city Planning Commission,
is dated Sept. 21, 2020. The
10-month gap before the July
19, 2021, public release of the
project should be explained.
Although questionable, the occurrence
could be standard operating
procedure, which could
begin another conversation.
Council Person Deference
is an unwritten tradition of
the New York City Council siding
with a district council person
in situations, such as land
use, that primarily effects his/
her council district. Anti-deference
coalitions within the City
Council can eradicate member
deference and allow any council
person to “save face” with
their community. Candidate
stances on council member
deference must be transparent
and publicized. U.S. Rep. Richie
Torres, a former city councilman
and once a longtime
staffer of former Councilman
Jimmy Vacca, in a co-written
op-ed in the Daily News from
August 2020 stated, “Member
deference has its place to be
sure … But it becomes dangerous
when it morphs into veto
power over the growth of the
city’s economy.”
Does the Bruckner upzone
project markedly effect our
city’s economy? In this situation,
indifference to deference
is unacceptable. This is a shortened
two-year council term;
2023 re-election efforts come
quickly.
Legal Actions are glitzy in
the court of public opinion but
sometimes ineffective in the
court of law. An apparent victory
against The Two Bridge
Tower Project by well-organized,
well-funded Lower East
Side community groups was
overturned in 2021 by a state
Supreme Appellate Court ruling.
Throggs Neck Associates
LLC, although formidable, is
not on par with the well-funded
Two Bridge development team
that included JDS Development
Group and L and M Development.
We are in a necessary,
provoked multiple-community
dog-fi ght against investor greed
before community need. The
common goal, preservation of
a precious commodity, our lowdensity
zoning designations.
Monthly meetings resume
in September, however, the traditional
summer respite could
be interrupted by circumstances
requiring ad hoc attention
(one is on the horizon).
Our community has traditionally
exhibited a “We are Family
attitude.” Now is the time
to let it shine. Communicate;
make that phone call, text message
or email. Please check on
family, friends and neighbors,
especially the elderly and vulnerable.
Any area homeowner
or renter interested in the Spencer
Estate Civic Association,
send an email to spencerestatecivic@
gmail.com.
R e m e m b e r :
Community=Common-Unity
and Inclusion brings Solutions.
BY ANDREW CHIRICO
As most of you know by
now, our neighborhood is under
attack by greedy developers
who want to change our
zoning and take over Bruckner
Boulevard — from Crosby
Avenue to Gifford Avenue
near St. Raymond’s Cemetery
— to build four high-rise
apartment buildings.
An entity know as “The
Throggs Neck Associates
LLC” led by one of the owners
of Food Town has sent a letter
to the NYC Planning Commission
asking for zoning
changes. While many properties
are listed to be upzoned,
many of the owners were not
aware this attempt was taking
place.
In 2004, the City Council
and the Department of City
Planning both approved our
downzoning as part of the
Throggs Neck rezoning. All
of Schuylerville and most of
Throggs Neck were granted
downzoning to R4A which
means only one- and twofamily
detached homes can
be built going forward to preserve
the character of the
neighborhood.
We are a “low density
growth management zone.”
Changing this quiet, low-density
neighborhood into something
resembling Manhattan
will not improve Schuylerville.
Our schools, Fire Department
and Police Department
cannot handle any
increase in population. The
needs of our community must
take priority over greedy developers.
The infrastructure
must be considered and preserved.
In this election year, both
present and future elected offi
cials have been contacted to
gain support to preserve our
neighborhood. Petitions have
been created both online and
on paper. Every civic organization
in Throggs Neck, Pelham
Bay, Schuylerville and
Country Club have been inundated
with phone calls, with
people asking “ is this true”
and “how can we stop this
from going forward.”
If the developers win, this
will be the end of our way of
life. Recently PS 14 was enlarged
to alleviate the overcrowding
at neighboring PS
71; an increase in population
will put us back to where we
started breaking our public
schools. Our Fire Department
will be overwhelmed and our
Police Department will be the
hardest hit. We have the largest
precinct by footprint, but
we don’t have enough police
to protect the area they cover
now. This is not the fault of
the police, it is the fault of the
administration in City Hall.
You can help by getting signatures
on petitions. Please contact
us by email www.waterburylasalle@
yahoo.com.
We are planning to restart
our in-person monthly meetings
soon. We rely on your
dues to run our organization.
We don’t get any help from
our elected offi cials. Please
send your $10 yearly dues to
Waterbury LaSalle Community
Association, 1145 Hobart
Ave., Bronx, N.Y. 10461. We
are a 501c(3) charity, which
means donations over and
above dues are tax deductible.
Stay well and stay safe
during this crisis. We will get
through this.
CIVIC CENTER
Waterbury LaSalle
Community
Association
CIVIC CENTER
Spencer Estate Civic
Association
CIVIC CENTER
Korony Post 253
BY TONY SALIMBENE
So I fi nd out it now costs
$20.60 per box to send to our
troops who are not coming
home just yet. You can
leave (or mail) a donation at
St. Benedict Rectory. Please
mark the envelope American
Legion Auxiliary 253 and
Aunt Cathy will pick them up.
Thanks.
A pleasure and honor
to see AmVets Post 38 rise
from the ashes or should I
say storm. Local government
didn’t help as promised, no
one knows where the money
is, so we helped, along with
38’s members dedication and
sweat equity. Amazing BBQ.
Check your computer and
phone mail for their next veteran’s
event.
Until Next Time: A common
remark I heard regarding
veterans and local politics
was, “no one cares and then
they complain.” Put your vote
where your mouth (heart) is
and get out and vote!
/www.water-burylasalle@yahoo.com
link
/www.water-burylasalle@yahoo.com
link
/www.water-burylasalle@yahoo.com
/gmail.com
/yahoo.com