BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY February 2, 2020 2
DEP reverses empty basin call on Jerome Pk. Reservoir
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 through 2021
and will help to ensure the longterm
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“They have not rescinded their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to be fi lled will be rescinded.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 basin of Jerome Park Reservoir is presently empty. Schneps Media Jason Cohen
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.”
200-bed homeless shelter coming to Blondell Ave.: DHS
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 represents 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,
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
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.
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