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City scraps plans for mall, affordable housing project in Bronx
Local Councilman Andy King said he opposed to Baychester Square
The city pulled a proposal for a Bronx mall and senior housing project known as Baychester Square from the City Council’s land use agenda on Wednesday after local councilman Andy King said he was opposed to it.
Baychester Square was planned to go on vacant land across from the New York State Thruway that the city had leased to the MTA, and it would have included a mall and 180 affordable housing units for seniors, along with $30 million for the MTA capital plan, according to the Daily News.
The mall would have been located across from another mall, the Mall at Bay Plaza, whose operator Prestige Properties had backed up the group Speak Up for a Better Bronx, which was opposing Baychester Square.
Prestige employees have also donated $7,500 to King since the beginning of 2016.
De Blasio spokesman Wiley Norvell said the city was still committed to the project and would look to refine it moving forward, while King said in a statement that the Council opposed Baychester Square due to “strong community opposition.”
“The community is opposed to another major retail destination for so many reasons,” he told the Daily News. “So now, the Baychester Square Project, in the form it was proposed, is dead and I’m calling it a victory for our community.” [Daily News] – Eddie Small