Representatives of CAMBA Housing Ventures reassured residents of Bedford Park that their impending construction project comprised of two buildings will take into account their concerns about traffic safety, increased amount of formerly homeless people, and over-burdened city services.

The representatives updated Community Board 7 at the latest meeting of the Housing, Land Use & Economic committee meeting on Feb. 11, showing renderings of the pair of buildings.

The two buildings–one at 257-271 E. 202nd St., and the other at 258-278 E. 203rd St.–will go up on a shared plot of land in a section of the neighborhood that’s extremely narrow, generating concerns over congestion in a neighborhood built to be suburban-like in New York City. The buildings, meantime, will have independent courtyards in the back of the space. With 323 units planned among the two properties, residents warned the Brooklyn-based nonprofit that creating such a congested residential project on two narrow streets will create problems. The properties will be built as-of-right, staying within the existing zoning laws that at one point CB7 had sought to amend but were unsuccessful.

The latest revision in the project expands affordability options to prospective tenants. From May 2019 to Jan. 2020, CAMBA doubled the number of units set aside at the two buildings for homeless individuals and families from 97 to 194. Military veterans will be preferred in 50 percent of these units. This new configuration, though, has also resulted in a loss of 49 units formerly available in the general public lottery.

Using an affordability formula based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD) known as Area Median Income (AMI), an individual with an annual income of $22,410 will pay $362 in monthly rent.  Another single tenant making $59,760 annually will pay $1,163 in rent.

One, two, and three bedroom apartments will be available ranging from $456 to $2,037 per month depending on AMI.

A specific concern for Andrew Laiosa, a member of CB7 and employee with West Bronx Housing, is how difficult it is currently for FDNY trucks to navigate the narrow streets along East 202nd Street, East 203rd Street, and Briggs Avenue.  When the construction is finished, Laiosa sees a situation where fire trucks with ladders may not be able to position themselves to fight fires on upper floors.

“I have personally spoken to [FDNY]…off the record of course, and they’ve told me someone is going to die,” Laiosa said. “Because there’s no room for a fire truck to negotiate the streets.”

David Rowe, executive vice president of CAMBA Housing Ventures, is aware of how narrow the streets are, but punted to the city ultimately being responsible for the streets.  “I think that’s a conversation between FDNY and the city,” said Rowe.

Another concern for CB7 is to gather assurances from developers that local residents benefit from these projects by preferred consideration in housing and employment.

As a social services agency, CAMBA promises to conduct research into the homeless shelters within the community board boundaries to prioritize their needs for housing.  “We can target people who are living in the shelters now… to live here at our [building] project.  We have done this in other neighborhoods,” said Rowe.

As to increasing job opportunities, according to Rowe, CAMBA has been reaching out to community boards with job postings for local residents in an effort to fill various positions in the company.  He describes the effort as a way for the company to maintain a positive presence in the neighborhood long after the construction phase is finished.

“One of the things we do really well… is collaborating and we want to collaborate with CB7 to host job fairs for construction, permanent and also permanent CAMBA jobs,” said Rowe.

CAMBA plans to start construction at the site this spring.

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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.