CB7 unsure about affordable housing
Planned housing would be next to St. James Episcopal Church in Fordham
BY JASON COHEN
Plans to construct affordable
housing next to a historic
church in Fordham led to a
two-and-a-half hour heated debate
between the Community
Board 7 Housing Committee
meeting on Sept. 15.
The plan is for Dattner Architects
to build a nine-story
building for affordable housing
at the landmarked St. James
Episcopal Church at 2500 Jerome
Ave. But the Landmarks
Preservation Commission
(LPC) is required to obtain a
Certifi cate of Appropriateness
as the proposed work affects
the architectural features of
the landmark property.
“We think this will make
our neighborhood even more
of a welcoming place,” said
Reverend Matt Oprendek of
the church.
The committee didn’t disapprove
of the project but planned
to send a letter to LPC saying
they felt the building would
overshadow the church and St.
Mary’s Park. They also asked
that the height of the building
be reduced so it’s below the
peak of the church.
Currently, the church is 58
feet above elevation at the corner
of Jerome Avenue and E.
190th Street and the new development
will be 66 feet in total.
Board member Myrna Calderon
felt that this would not
benefi t CB7. She questioned
if developers planned to meet
with residents to see how they
feel about the project.
“It does not meet the standard
for appropriateness,”
she said. “It changes the whole
church landscape. I’m very
concerned about the impact on
the neighborhood. Yes we need
low income housing, but we
are oversaturated.”
Denise Relf shared
Calderon’s concerns.
“We have a lot of new development
and it’s overwhelming
our community, especially
when these developments provide
nothing more than housing,”
Relf said. “The quality of
life is being impacted by the
community overcrowding.”
Another issue Relf brought
up is that the building
lacks parking.
“I am still greatly concerned
by the absence of parking,”
Relf explained. “Listening to
the purpose of this presentation,
I can understand if this
is not the space to discuss it,
and yet, I am still left with an
uneasy feeling when it comes
to the overall impact this
could have on the existing and
incoming residents.”
In July, the church fi led
plans to build a 96 foot high
residential mixed-use building
with 103 apartments for individuals
Torres demands lead removal for NYCHA residents
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,6 SEPT. 25-OCT. 1, 2020 BTR
and families, including
formerly homeless individuals
and households earning 30
percent of the Area Median Income
(AMI) to 80 percent AMI.
Half of the units are permanent
supportive housing for homeless
adults with preference for
veterans. There will be 73,233
square feet for residential
space and 21,146 square feet for
community space.
The plans called for a mix of
studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom
and three-bedroom apartments
and funding for the renovation
of the historic church.
Developers planned to create
the 5,200 square foot St. James
Community Center, which
would be operated by St. James.
There are also plans to expand
St. James’ soup kitchen and
food pantry, which the church
has been operating since 2017.
Supportive services will be
provided by the nonprofi t Concern
for Independent Living.
Amenities will include a resident
superintendent, on-site property
management, and social
service staff, a laundry room,
multipurpose room and computer
room, fi tness room, second
fl oor and roof-top terraces and a
landscaped courtyard.
Concern for Independent
Living Executive Director
Ralph Fasano said this will be
good for the community. With
nearly 60,000 homeless people
in NYC, he stressed that supportive
housing is needed.
“People are struggling,” he
said. “We feel very good about
being part of the solution.”
Other programs will include
regularly-scheduled fi nancial
wellness seminars, community
organizing space and afterschool
programs for school-aged
children in the neighborhood.
The space will also be available
to neighboring community
service organizations and
Community Board 7.
One resident, who chose to
remain nameless, explained
she is a homeowner and this
new affordable housing will
oversaturate the neighborhood
and bring property values
down. She noted it will
block St. Mary’s Park and on
top of that, there is affordable
housing at St. James and Creston
Avenue and Kingsbridge
and E. 196th Street.
“I’m tired of this being a
dump for every developer who
comes in here,” she exclaimed.
“The building is going to be a
complete eyesore.”
She stressed that the community
board needs to hold
the developer accountable. The
resident questioned what the
qualifi cations for a Certifi cate
of Appropriateness are and if
this project is worthy of one.
“This is horrible,” she said.
“This is very upsetting for
the community.”
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A rendering of the proposed affordable housing. Photos courtesy of St.
James Episcopal Church
BY JASON COHEN
Many NYCHA residents
do not realize they are surrounded
by lead. NYCHA facilities
that were built pre-1978
need lead abatement and removal,
yet the federal government
has no money set aside
for this purpose.
On Friday, Sept. 18, Councilman
Ritchie Torres held a press
conference at the Monterey
Houses at 2100 Monterey Ave.,
where he demanded the Trump
Administration take action to
improve lead abatement and
invest $300 billion for NYCHA
into its next stimulus package.
Torres grew up in public
housing, so Congressional candidate
knows the struggle far
too well.
“Once you are exposed to
lead it has consequences that
will haunt you for the rest of
your life,” Torres said. “We as
a society have a moral obligation
to protect our children and
their future.”
The councilman explained
the numbers of children poisoned
by lead are “a tale of
two cities.”
In Manhattan, there were
289 children poisoned in 2018
and 213 in 2019. Meanwhile in
the Bronx, 819 children were
poisoned in 2018 and 670 in 2020.
He stressed that this is just
a small part of the story. The
Center for Disease Control
(CDC) uses a blood lead reference
value of fi ve micrograms
per deciliter to identify children
with blood lead levels that
are much higher than most
children’s levels. This new level
is based on the U.S. population
of children ages 1 to 5 who
are in the highest 2.5 percent
of kids when tested for lead in
their blood.
“These numbers only capture
the worst cases,” he remarked.
“There’s no such
thing as a safe amount of
lead exposure.”
According to Torres, not only
has the government failed to
take care of public housing, but
President Trump aired a video
during the Republican National
Convention claiming it has.
Torres said that just because
people are poor does
not mean they should live in
unsafe conditions.
“The federal government has
zero commitment to protecting
our children from lead poisoning,”
Torres said. “The time has
come to eradicate childhood lead
poisoning. No child should be
left behind and poisoned by lead
in their own home.”
Tenant advocate and former
public housing resident Leah
James surveyed the Monterey
Houses and many others and is
disgusted with the conditions
they are in.
From black walls to brown
water, she noted that people
should not be living in such hazardous
environments. However,
James revealed many have no
idea the NYCHA buildings are
fi lled with lead paint.
She told the Bronx Times
many people cannot afford to
move out and even if they apply
for a new place, it can take
years for their applications
to be approved.“The federal
government should allocate
$3 billion to remove lead,”
she commented. “They’ve
been living here for so many
years and they don’t know
where to go.”
CM Ritchies Torres demands federal investment for NYCHA lead abatement
and removal Friday at a press conference. Photos by Jason Cohen
/bxtimes.com