Photo by Síle Moloney
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrion, Jr. and Dynamic Star LLC joined Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Assembly Member Yudelka Tapia (A.D. 86), City Council Member Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14) and other city officials in the University Heights section of The Bronx on Aug. 8 to announce that the city is moving forward with “Fordham Landing South,” part of the two-phase much-anticipated, billion-dollar Fordham Landing Development.
Dynamic Star, LLC, the developers behind the project had given an update on the three-acre site to Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) members on Feb. 11 at their monthly land use committee meeting.
“This stretch of the Bronx waterfront has led many lives but will soon be home to over 900 families. Our vision for Fordham Landing South will create nearly a thousand 100-percent affordable units along with a vibrant mixed-use community and new access to the Metro North transit hub,” said Adams.
Photo by Síle Moloney
He added, “When we took office three years ago, our housing situation was at a breaking point: too many families were being pushed out of the housing market and too many plots of land like this one lay empty. So, our administration turned inaction into initiative, shattering affordable housing records year after year after year and passing the first citywide rezoning in six decades to unlock new housing across every neighborhood. The key to your own front door is the key to unlocking the American Dream, and in the Bronx, we are making sure that dream stays strong and affordable.”
Described as a transformative affordable housing development along the Bronx waterfront, officials said it will create more than 900 affordable homes for New Yorkers. Along with Dynamic Star LLC and Lettire Construction Corp. city officials said the Adams administration will advance the project along an underused stretch of the Harlem River, creating a new mixed-use community with approximately 927 affordable homes and waterfront public access area.
City officials said the announcement reinforces what they said was the mayor’s ongoing commitment to creating new homes across the entire city, with over 426,000 homes already created, preserved, or planned through the Adams administration’s efforts to date.
Rendering courtesy of Perkins Eastman
For his part, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrion, Jr. lauded the mayor and his team for delivering on what he said were longstanding dreams and opportunities not achieved by previous administrations.
He added, “When I was a city planner, district manager, and councilmember in the 1990s, we were envisioning housing here on Fordham Landing. Now it will finally get done!” He said working with the developers and New York State, the over 900 units of affordable housing and public waterfront space would be adjacent to mass transit easily accessible to the central business district in Manhattan.
City officials said the vision for Fordham Landing South includes the creation of over 900 new homes, all 100 percent affordable, along the Harlem River waterfront, as well as the construction of two mixed-use buildings, structured parking, a waterfront public access area, a new road, and new access to Metro North to redevelop a vacant riverfront site that is immediately south of the University Heights Bridge.
Gibson thanked all those involved in the project and of Carrión Jr. said in part, “When you hear his story of being a resident here, growing up here, serving as the district manager, the council member, the borough president, the HPD commissioner, and now deputy mayor, it is truly a dream come true for so many Bronxites that have seen this site lie vacant for so many years.”
She added in part, “So I want to say thank you, deputy mayor, for your love, your support, and always proudly representing the boogie down Bronx. Thank you. I want to recognize my predecessor, number 13, Rubén Díaz Jr. Thank you for your support, your leadership. It’s an honor to carry on in your footsteps and to make sure projects like this are completed, because you started something amazing in believing in the promise and the potential of our borough.”
Source: Dynamic Star
City officials said the 927 affordable units will serve a variety of income levels, with at least 15 percent dedicated to formerly homeless families. They said the project will be financed, in part, by both the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and additionally, the project has received a $55 million award from New York State, administered by Empire State Development (ESD), to assist with site infrastructure.
For his part, Gary Segal, co-founder and CEO, Dynamic Star, said, “With today’s announcement, the long-held dream of transforming this neglected stretch of Bronx waterfront into a vibrant, accessible community is finally becoming a reality.” He added, “What was once deserted will soon be a destination, a place where families can live, work, and thrive for generations to come.”
“We’re grateful for this opportunity to join Dynamic Star on this journey, bringing high-quality and sustainable affordable housing to the Bronx,” said Nick Lettire, president of Lettire Construction Corp. “Thank you to all our community and government partners, especially Mayor Adams, for allowing us to Get Stuff Built while creating jobs and strengthening the community.”
Before addressing those gathered at the event, which included union representatives, Sanchez bowed to Adams, the senior City official but also as a nod to the rules of respect learned through their respective martial arts affiliations.
Based on the latest City Council redistricting maps from the Center for Urban Research at the CUNY Graduate Center, the southern section of the Fordham Landing project discussed on Aug. 8, i.e. the site south of University Heights Bridge, falls under Council District 16 rather than 14.
Photo by Síle Moloney
We asked Sanchez, chair of the city council committee on housing and buildings, if that was the indeed the case given her attendance at the event. Her team said the she had been advocating for the area in general and joined the event because of that connection along the district borders.
“Opportunities like Fordham Landing are rare in New York City, large-scale sites where we can meet our urgent need for affordable housing in ways that are holistic, community-centered, and aligned with local vision,” Sanchez said. “That’s why I have championed, and in December, secured a commitment from the Adams administration for a neighborhood planning study for Community Board 7 in The Bronx, including Fordham Landing.”
Source: Dynamic Star
She added, “We must ensure that any future development reflects what the people of this community want and need: housing that is deeply affordable, good jobs, accessible public spaces, and long-term investment in our neighborhoods. I’m happy to see Fordham Landing South moving forward and look forward to shaping a shared future for Fordham Landing North, driven by community priorities.”
In June, Sanchez and NYC Parks had celebrated the renovation of the nearby Fordham Landing Basketball courts.
Meanwhile, Matt Gross, a partner at Urban Builders Collaborative, said, “We’re proud to be part of the Fordham Landing team and the creation of a new Bronx Landmark. Thank you to all our private and public partners for their perseverance and commitment to make this transformational project a reality.”
During the Q&A, Norwood News asked if all hires would be direct or if there would be any subcontracting, since, as reported, it has been suggested by union members in the past that subcontracting is a way of evading responsibilities when it comes to paying fair wages and ensuring safety standards. We asked if there was to be subcontracting, if fair wages and safety levels would be guaranteed.
Carrión Jr. replied, “Gary, come just so…because I know you can fill in some of the blanks, but in every one of these development projects, there are requirements for local hiring. Obviously, this is going to be a union-driven labor force, which is really historic. The mayor insisted that we start to craft a working relationship with labor where they can help us deliver affordable housing at the right price point. It was a huge challenge. It’s never been done before.”
He continued, “I could point to maybe one or two projects around the city where it’s built by organized labor and it’s affordable. Market rate, easy. Affordable, very difficult. But this developer came to the table at the call of the mayor and at the challenge of the mayor and said, ‘Are you able to build affordable housing in partnership with labor?’ They said ‘yes’.”
Photo by Síle Moloney
He continued, “So, they’re squeezing their budget in order to deliver at the right price point, and then your universe of subcontractors are all local providers. Obviously, the materials coming to the site, we try to buy America and we try to buy local New York City, and so we put that challenge to every developer to ensure that there’s a local economic benefit in New York City. I don’t know if you want to add anything, Gary.”
Segal said, “No, that was on point. The local unions are working with the administration and ourselves to be able to build unions. This is affordable housing. Union, 100 percent, has never been done, and our goal is to try to get it done. And we have the backing of the unions. So that’s very, very special.”
Norwood News later received unconfirmed reports that a construction accident had taken place on Aug. 7 at around 10:49 p.m. the night before the press conference somewhere at or near the Major Deegan Expressway Exit 10, which is located close to the Fordham Landing construction site. We asked EMS if the department had any information on the report. We did not receive a response. We’ve followed up with EMS and also with NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) and will share any information we receive.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.