New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYC Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Sideya Sherman announced Wednesday, May 20, that the City will advance neighborhood plans for the North Bronx and for the communities south of Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

 

Centered on White Plains Road in The Bronx, and Coney Island and McDonald Avenues in Brooklyn, both described as “transit-rich corridors constrained by outdated zoning rules,” City officials said the plans aim to create urgently needed housing, including permanently affordable housing, support job growth, and deliver what were described as “long-overdue neighborhood investments.”

 

Mamdani administration officials said DCP will conduct community engagement in the coming months to help shape rezoning and investment proposals in partnership with City Council Land Use Chair Kevin Riley (C.D. 12), Bronx Council Member Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), and Brooklyn Council Members Shahana Hanif (C.D. 39), Rita Joseph (C.D. 40), Farah Louis (C.D. 45), and Simcha Felder (C.D. 44). They said the Mamdani administration will advance additional planning initiatives in the coming weeks.

 

Riley represents the North Bronx neighborhoods of Williamsbridge-Olinville, Bronxwood, Eastchester-Edenwald-Baychester, Wakefield, Allerton-Parkside, Baychester, The Valley, and Co-op City, while Dinowitz represents the Northwest Bronx neighborhoods of Bedford Park, Norwood, Kingsbridge Heights-Van Cortlandt Village, Kingsbridge, Riverdale-Spuyten Duyvil, Wakefield-Woodlawn, Woodlawn Cemetery, and Van Cortlandt Park.

 

“New Yorkers are being pushed out of the neighborhoods they built because our city has spent decades refusing to build enough housing where people actually want and need to live,” said the mayor. “These plans are about changing that. Along major transit corridors in The Bronx and Brooklyn, we have an opportunity to build more homes, create permanently affordable housing, support small businesses and invest in public spaces and infrastructure that communities deserve. And we are going to do it with New Yorkers leading the process every step of the way.”

 

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson welcomed the news, saying, “Thoughtful, community-driven planning is essential to understanding how the City can better meet the evolving needs of neighborhoods across our borough. As this process moves forward, it is important that community conversations remain focused on affordable housing, economic opportunity, infrastructure improvements, and the needs of Bronx residents.”

 

She added, “We look forward to robust community engagement efforts that ensure residents have a meaningful voice throughout the process.” Gibson added that she looked forward to working with her partners in government, the DCP, and community stakeholders to help to shape proposals that she said reflect the needs and priorities of the North Bronx community.

City officials said the White Plains Road Plan will build on community planning work they said had been conducted in close partnership with Riley and Dinowitz. They added that the plan focuses on a key, transit-accessible corridor in the North Bronx and intersecting commercial streets that are currently dominated by one-story and two-story, strictly commercial buildings and have seen little new housing development, particularly affordable housing.

For his part, Riley confirmed that for a year, his office had been working closely with the DCP, Dinowitz, community stakeholders, residents, and small business owners on the plan to ensure the process reflected the voices and priorities of the people who live and work there every day. He thanked the mayor and his administration for “prioritizing this important planning effort and recognizing the need for proactive, community-driven investment in the Northeast Bronx.”

 

The councilman added in part, “White Plains Road has long served as a vital corridor and central hub for the Northeast Bronx, and this work is about building on the strength of the community by creating a more community-centered and accessible corridor, one that expands housing opportunities, strengthens small businesses and the local economy, improves public spaces and infrastructure, increases affordability, and creates a safer, higher quality of life for residents and future generations alike.”

 

City officials said that over the next year, the City will work with residents to develop what they described as a community-driven proposal that updates zoning to encourage more housing, requires income-restricted affordable homes, supports small businesses and economic development, improves neighborhood infrastructure and enhances public spaces.

They said community engagement will begin with a neighborhood “walkshop” in June, followed by the release of a zoning concept map later this year. They said the study area includes White Plains Road from Adee Avenue to the Bronx-Mount Vernon border, along with portions of East Gun Hill Road and East 233rd Street.

 

For his part, Dinowitz said, “We know that White Plains Road needs more investment, but how we get there makes all the difference. This community-driven process must deliver truly affordable housing, protect the small businesses that are on this corridor, and ensure that longtime residents benefit from future development. I will be focused on making sure this plan gets that balance right.”

 

On Monday, May 18, as reported, the mayor announced The Peninsula in the Hunts Point section of the borough as the chosen Bronx location for the City’s second municipal grocery store.