Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation

Update: Bedford Park Residents Concerned Over New NYBG Apartments

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY
When members of the Bedford Mosholu Community Association (BMCA) held their usual, virtual, monthly meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 6, concerns were raised over the impact of New York Botanical Garden’s (NYBG) plans for two new housing developments at East Bedford Park Boulevard and Webster Avenue, which form part of a 2011 re-zoning plan to revitalize 88 blocks of Webster Avenue.   According to Barbara Stronczer, president of BMCA, and as reported by the Norwood News, the $93 million housing and retail project was due to incorporate 188 reduced-income apartments for seniors at 2856 Webster Avenue in 2020. This was to


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“Jashawn’s Law” Passed After 18 Years; Honors 8-Year-Old Tragically Killed in 2002 Fire

By DAVID GREENE
A pair of local, elected officials joined housing advocates and attorneys in taking a bow during a recent virtual discussion, following the passage of “Jashawn’s Law,” which establishes deadlines for landlords to make court-ordered repairs to buildings.   State Sen. Robert Jackson joined Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz in a Zoom conference call on Monday, Nov. 16, along with officials from the Legal Aid Society and housing advocacy groups, Take Root Justice and the Fordham-Bedford Housing Corporation.   The bill was put forward by Dinowitz in 2003 in response to the Aug. 6, 2002 blaze at 3569 DeKalb Avenue in Norwood that


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New Affordable Housing Rules Attempt to Prevent Discrimination

By DAVID CRUZ
As Norwood continues its building boom of affordable housing, with more projects under way, securing a unit could improve for applicants placed on so-called “landlord blacklists” following changes in the City’s affordable housing lottery and screening processes. With affordable housing often cut off to New Yorkers who may carry a poor credit score or had once sued their landlord, the new rules mandate landlords and developers disregard those considerations when renting a City-subsidized affordable housing apartment. The revised rules came after City officials solicited feedback over the fairness the housing lottery, a selection process that merely qualifies an applicant to


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Op-Ed: Let’s Do More to Assist Rent-Burdened Bronx Seniors

By CATHERINE CLARKE
Community-based groups in the northwest Bronx care for their senior citizens!  Significant local efforts to assist low-income seniors include the creation of new affordable housing for seniors, the promotion of city programs to keep rents affordable to seniors and a wide array of health, social and recreational services offered by religious institutions, community groups and senior centers.  Affordable, safe and decent housing remains an urgent need for all Bronx residents, and more so for seniors who have limited incomes and often growing physical needs in terms of accessibility and safety. New York City recently increased the income limits for its


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Request to Down Zone Bedford Park Comes Amid Race to Stymie Evictions

By DANIELA BEASLEY
After learning of the recent down zoning of a portion of streets in the neighborhood of Woodlawn, the Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation (FBHC) is now fighting even more for portions of Bedford Park to receive the same outcome. A request was put into the New York City Department of City Planning (NYCDCP) to down zone 202nd and 203rd streets five years back when other areas of Bedford Park underwent rezoning. The request called for R5B or R7B zones to be adopted on these narrow streets, mandating developers to put up structures at the same height as the century-old houses that


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More Senior Housing to Abut Serviam Gardens

By WENDY JOAN BIDDLECOMBE
New units of senior housing are coming to Bedford Park on the grounds of Mount St. Ursula, abutting the Serviam Gardens senior facility, to address the growing need of affordable housing for the elderly. Once complete, the impending Serviam Heights will add 195 new affordable units of housing to the neighborhood. A new, nine-story tower is planned for 2848 Bainbridge Ave., just north of Serviam Gardens and Serviam Towers. The project will also rehabilitate the convent on the grounds to include apartments, while crews will repurpose the chapel into a senior center. John M. Reilly, the executive director of Fordham


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