Van Cortlandt Jewish Center (VCJC) officials said its members discussed and voted to approve the sale of the VCJC building to Barone Management during a special membership meeting held on March 30. They said under the terms of the sale, which also includes a lease agreement, Barone will build a new 5,000-square-foot synagogue on nearby Stevenson Avenue, and also agreed to additional air rights for VCJC. Officials said the vote was held in accordance with its by-laws and followed a March 5th meeting of the Board of Trustees during which the Board voted unanimously to approve the sale.

 

Barone Management, a construction and development firm, has an address at 1044 Northern Blvd Suite 302, Roslyn, NY 11576. As reported, besides being a house of worship for VCJC’s Jewish congregation, the building also serves as an older adult center run by the nonprofit, JASA, as well as as an early childhood education center run by Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC).

A petition was launched in June 2024, as reported, by a group called “Van Cortlandt” on www.change.org to stop the proposed sale of the Center, a modern Orthodox synagogue established in 1927 and located at 3880 Sedgwick Avenue in Van Cortlandt Village. At that stage, it was understood the target buyer/developer was Innovative Development. A VCJC member later told Norwood News that that deal fell through.

 

Members were informed by the Board that the deal was rejected in favor of the Barone Management deal. However, prior to this, the petitioners wrote in part, “The Van Cortlandt Jewish Center (VCJC) is selling to Innovative Development to build HUGE apartment buildings on Sedgwick Ave. What does this mean for you? NO MORE JASA for seniors, NO MORE MMCC school for children, DUST and ASBESTOS, LOUD NOISE all day for years, LESS parking, NO MORE trees.”

The petition was targeted at various elected officials including NY State Attorney General Letitia James, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, State Sen. Robert Jackson (S.D. 31), who represents parts of Manhattan and The Bronx, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), who also represents parts of Manhattan and The Bronx, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), who represents the northwest Bronx, and City Council Member Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), who also represents the northwest Bronx.

 

Norwood News reached out to each of the elected officials, as well as some members of the local community/VCJC members for comment on the vote to approve the sale. We did not receive any feedback from the elected officials, except for the assemblyman. A spokesperson said, “While I respect the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center membership’s right to vote on the future of their building and their property, I do think that it is quite regrettable that the building will no longer be used as a synagogue. I am very concerned that that block is turning into one large construction zone, negatively impacting the character of the neighborhood.”

 

He added, “The loss of single-family homes in favor of large buildings and the potential for a large building on this site in the future is disturbing. I do hope that any housing built on that block is affordable housing. I am curious as to how long this charter school will be at that site. Van Cortlandt Village is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the Bronx, filled with a diverse housing stock, including The Amalgamated and Park Reservoir, both of which are affordable developments, as well as co-ops and rental housing, plus single-family homes. Losing some of that diversity is not helpful to the neighborhood.”

We will share the feedback we received from the community in a follow-up story.

 

Meanwhile, according to VCJC officials, on March 30, it was “resolved that the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center sell all or part of its real property at 3880 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, NY, pursuant to the proposed Purchase and Sale Agreement, which has been approved and duly authorized by the Board of Trustees of VCJC.”

 

Officials said the terms comprised a sale price of $4 million, a newly constructed 5,000-square-foot synagogue building, and air rights for an additional 5,000 square feet. Other terms related to the use of sale proceeds, whereby the funds will be used to support the congregation in the coming years, and to maintain and improve any retained real property. They said no dissolution of VCJC was contemplated.

VCJC officials said it was further resolved on March 30 that the Board of Trustees, in consultation with legal counsel, be authorized to execute and finalize the purchase and sale agreement and any other necessary documentation to complete the approved sale.

 

According to VCJC officials, key discussion points during the meeting included the following:

1) The transaction includes a lease agreement, which took effect April 1.

2) Under the agreement, the majority of the building will be leased to a newly chartered school within the South Bronx Classical Charter School network.

3) To minimize risk, VCJC will remain the property owner during construction, ensuring the congregation has a place of worship at all times.

4) Under the Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA), a new synagogue building will be constructed on the VCJC property, on Stevenson Avenue facing the Mutual building (see map above).

5) This construction will take place while VCJC remains the property owner the exising building and will be fully funded by Barone Management.

6)  According to VCJC officials, this arrangement ensures the congregation retains ownership of either its current property or the new synagogue at all times, minimizing risk.

7) The Attorney General’s office is expected to approve the transaction more readily due to the continuity of property ownership, reducing the risk of displacement.

 

VCJC officials said VCJC President Stu Harris chaired Sunday’s meeting during which members raised concerns about the impact on Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC) which rents a room at the Center on a month-to-month basis. They said VCJC had reached an agreement with MMCC to leave by August 15. When contacted, a representative for MMCC said they had no comment on the sale. We’ve also reached out to JASA for comment and will share any feedback we receive.

 

VCJC officials said concerns were also raised at the meeting about reinstating senior programs, such as community lunches, and said Board Chairman Jack Kleinfeld assured members that efforts would be made to negotiate a senior services program once the new synagogue was built.

Officials said VCJC attorney Dean Roberts of the Norris McLaughlin firm was present at the meeting to address legal questions and provide guidance on the transaction. They said following the discussion, the resolution was put to a roll call vote and the membership approved the sale by a margin of 32 to 10.

 

They said Harris ended the meeting, saying, “Thank you to the members that came out early Sunday morning to vote. I am happy that VCJC can now go to contract with Barone Management.”

 

VCJC officials said the sale involves two key legal agreements, a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) and a lease agreement. They said the latter allows VCJC to continue using the building while retaining ownership during the transition period. The lease is due to go into effect on July 1, according to a member familiar with the matter.

 

According to the member, the PSA was due to be signed after the March 30th membership vote, and after a $200,000 deposit was placed in escrow. Approval of the sale by the attorney general was also a required step in the process. Norwood News has reached out to the Office of the Attorney General for confirmation on whether or not the deal has been approved and will share any updates we receive.

 

According to VCJC, Barone Management specializes in the development of school buildings and is currently constructing a charter school facility on Kingsbridge Terrace. They said the school that will occupy that facility requires temporary space while awaiting completion of its permanent facility. They added that “the transition is expected to take two to three years.”

We asked VCJC officials if that timeframe refers to the VCJC development or the Kingsbridge Terrace school construction project. We also asked whether the Kingsbridge Terrace School is a part of the South Bronx Classical Charter School network. We were informed that they cannot comment on this for now as there are a lot of “moving parts” related to the contract at this point. They did say that VCJC will be used as a temporary school while the new referenced Kingsbridge Terrace school is being built by Barone Management.

 

We also asked if VCJC will be leased as a termporary school while the Kingsbridge Terrace charter school is being constructed and if so, once completed, what the VCJC building will be used for, or if it will be demolished. We were informed that Barone will by then own the Center, and therefore can do whatever they wish with it. VCJC officials said they do not know what that will be.

 

During a visit to the Center on April 14, construction of a residential complex located next to it was well underway. A sign displayed the general contractor for the work site as Innovative Development and Construction LLC with an address at 3862 Sedgwick Avenue. The estimated completion date for the residential units is June 2026. The owner is listed as 3870 Sedgwick LLC with an address at 3862 Sedgwick Avenue.

 

According to demolition permit X01002156 and new building permit X01080947, shared previously with Norwood News by Estelle Camera, a total of 42 Class A apartments are being built at the location, after Innovative acquired the properties located next door to VCJC. These were the former Van Cortlandt Public Library building and a private house located at 3870 Sedgwick Avenue.

 

According to the permits, the two premises consist of Tax Lot 73, Tax Block 3246, and were previously declared a zoning lot under Section 12-10 of a New York City zoning resolution. A Stop Work Order dated April 14, 2025 was affixed to the scaffold at the work site which is located on a bend, and as of May 28, a Stop Work Order is still in effect at the site according to NYC Department of Buildings.

 

An extract from their site reads, “Scaffold alternative not code compliant to section 3308 of building codes chapter 33. Stop all stripping operations at 6-story and above except to remove any loose debris and materials from lead edge of building, provide horizontal nets or scaffold alternative as per codes. PE letter loads impose for OHP and scaffold on adj. property roof exp2. Provide watchperson during non construction operations as per codes.”

 

To read our prior coverage of this issue, click here, here, here, and here.

 

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story stated we received no comment from elected officials. In fact, we had received feedback from Assemblyman Dinowitz. His comments are now included in this version. We apologize for this oversight.