The Daily Dirt: Plan for 7,500 units in the Bronx inches forward

Coming this summer: A series of zoning changes will bring 7,500 units to the Bronx. 

The Adams administration’s plan to rezone a 46-block area of the Bronx is moving forward, with a final City Council vote expected this summer. 

On Wednesday, the City Planning Commission signed off on the plan, which targets the areas surrounding the four new Metro-North Stations planned for Co-op City, Hunts Point, Morris Park and Parkchester/Van Nest. The stations are expected to be built by 2027 and are not affected by the state’s indefinitely delayed congestion pricing plan. (An MTA spokesperson on Wednesday confirmed that the contracts for those projects are already set and not delayed by the loss in expected revenue.)

The rezoning is expected to pave the way for 7,474 apartments, and add more than 300,000 gross square feet of retail space, 1.6 million square feet of life-science space and 1.2 million square feet of community facility space, per zoning docs.

The unit count increased from earlier projections, which pegged possible apartment creation at 6,000 units. The jump in units is due to density increases that would be permitted under the tentative City of Yes for Housing Opportunity amendment, as well as other changes to the rezoning proposal to allow more residential space. City of Yes allows for higher floor area ratios as part of the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program in certain districts.   

In other land use news, City Planning this week also released a draft framework for the Long Island City Neighborhood Plan, which could create as many as 14,000 new homes.

These plans are aimed, in part, at chipping away at the mayor’s “moonshot” goal of building 500,000 units of new housing over the next 10 years.   

What we’re thinking about: Who will take over for Greenland USA at Pacific Park? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com. 

A thing we’ve learned: NYC is getting its third-ever Wegmans. The supermarket, which does not impress my in-laws but won me over immediately, is taking over Bed Bath & Beyond’s old space on the Upper West Side, the West Side Rag reports. 

Elsewhere in New York…

— MTA officials on Wednesday said that $16 billion worth of upgrades and maintenance work will be put on hold due to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to delay congestion pricing, Gothamist reports. The agency is shelving plans to make 23 stations accessible to passengers with disabilities. The Second Avenue subway extension into East Harlem is also on hold.  

— City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is considering challenging Mayor Eric Adams in 2025, rallied on Wednesday to reverse $170 million in planned budget cuts to the early childhood education programs, Politico New York reports. The city budget is due June 30. 

— NYC schools could ban cell phones as soon as within the next two weeks, Chalkbeat reports. School officials say phones are harmful to students’ mental health and learning experience.  “I can’t think of any good reason why kids would actually have their phones while they’re in school,” Schools Chancellor David Banks said. The governor has also indicated that she is considering a cell phone ban in schools statewide.  

Closing Time 

Residential: The priciest residential sale Wednesday was $15 million for a 3,895-square-foot condominium unit at 50 Central Park South. Noble Black, David Eskander and David Son of Douglas Elliman had the listing. 

Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was for $90 million (as two separate transactions, for $55 million and $35 million) for four properties in Fort Greene. The portfolio was sold by AMS Realty Company to Settlement Housing Fund and contains 193 residential units.

New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $32 million for a condominium at 133 East 73rd Street in Lenox Hill. Carrie C Chiang and Andres Perea-Garzon of The Corcoran Group have the listing. — Matthew Elo