u/MrWinNT

Via Gothamist:

Plans to rehabilitate a stretch of the Cross-Bronx Expressway are on hold after years of pushback from Bronx residents and elected officials who argued the state’s proposal would worsen pollution and endanger residents’ health by widening roadways.

The state Department of Transportation announced Monday it is suspending the Cross Bronx Expressway Five Bridges Project and will not release the project’s final environmental assessment.

The project aimed to repair or replace five aging bridges along the expressway. But community groups and elected officials criticized parts of the proposal, arguing it would worsen congestion and pollution in a borough where asthma rates are among the city’s highest.

Last year, DOT dropped plans for an elevated diversion road after opponents said it would increase traffic and harm the tree canopy near the Bronx River and Starlight Park.

In a statement on Monday, NYSDOT New York City Regional Director Erik Koester said the agency had scaled back the proposal after community feedback but could not reach an agreement on how to move the project forward.

“Despite our best good faith efforts to bring this safety project forward, we have been unable to come to an agreement on how to successfully advance this project,” Koester said.

Koester said the agency would continue monitoring the bridges and make repairs as needed to preserve safety along the corridor. Earlier this month, debris fell onto a roadway connecting the George Washington Bridge and the Cross Bronx Expressway, narrowly missing drivers.

Local environmental advocates applauded the decision.

Siddhartha Sánchez, executive director of the Bronx River Alliance, said the state’s remaining proposal would have widened parts of the expressway by another 50 feet, bringing the expressway closer to nearby public housing residents and increasing pollution exposure along the corridor.

“We have always said that we understand that the bridges need to be repaired,” Sánchez said. “The question is how to reduce the harm to the local environment and people who live here.”

Mychal Johnson of South Bronx Unite, who has lived in Mott Haven for more than two decades, said residents already deal with heavy truck traffic tied to the expressway.

“The actual pollution is unmanageable at the moment and adding more to that is unjust,” Johnson said. “We are welcoming the news of not continuing the cycle of harm.”

He continued, “The traffic we are engaging with on a daily basis — our kids are waking, going to school and coming home — it’s a lot. The more we can get together and make solutions, it’s a win.”

Via NYC Gov:

NEW YORK – Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced The Peninsula in the Bronx has been selected as the second site for the City’s municipal grocery store program. The 20,000-square-foot store in Hunts Point is expected to open in 2027 and serve as an economic anchor for the South Bronx community.

“Working families in the Bronx have been forced to pay the price for a city that keeps getting more expensive while government looks the other way. That has to change. Our administration is putting communities like Hunts Point at the center of our work to address the affordability crisis,” said Mayor Mamdani. “Making sure every New Yorker can buy fresh, affordable groceries in their own neighborhood is a key part of our affordability agenda. We are proud to begin this work in the South Bronx and remain committed to opening a store in every borough before the end of our first term.”

“No family in the Bronx should have to choose between rent and groceries,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su. “This summer, we will issue a request for proposals to bring in operators who meet our affordability standards, and we will have a store open in Hunts Point by 2027. This is what public investment looks like when it is done right — government setting the terms, holding to a timeline, and making sure the benefits reach the families who need them most.”

Last month, the administration announced La Marqueta in East Harlem as the first site selected for the municipal grocery store program. The Mamdani administration plans to open one store in each borough by the end of the Mayor’s first term.

Mayor Mamdani and NYCEDC also announced the launch of the N.Y.C. Groceries Sites Portal to identify potential locations for future stores in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Property owners with eligible sites are encouraged to submit them through the portal for consideration as the N.Y.C. Groceries initiative expands.

“The selection of The Peninsula is a historic win for Hunts Point, and we are very proud that the Bronx will be the first borough where the first N.Y.C. Grocery store will open by end of 2027 and serve a community that has been neglected in the past,” said NYCEDC Interim President & CEO Jeanny Pak. “And with the launch of the N.Y.C. Groceries Sites Portal, the city is taking bold action to address the affordability crisis, and we encourage all property owners in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island that meet the criteria to submit their sites for consideration.”

The Peninsula, an NYCEDC project, is the multiyear redevelopment of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Facility in Hunts Point. The dynamic, mixed-use campus will include 740 units of 100% affordable housing, more than 50,000 square feet of new public open space, 30,000 square feet of light industrial space, more than 50,000 square feet of community space and 20,000 square feet of commercial space that will house the South Bronx’s municipal grocery store.

“I am grateful to Mayor Mamdani and the New York City Economic Development Corporation for their work to open a public grocery store at the Peninsula in Hunts Point and strengthen food access across the South Bronx,” said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “Access to affordable, fresh food should not be a luxury determined by zip code; it should be a right.”

“I am thrilled to hear that the second site for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Municipal Grocery Store will be at The Peninsula in Hunts Point,” said State Senator Jose Serrano. “As the Senator for the 29th Senate District, representing neighborhoods that battle food insecurity, this site is important in ensuring our communities have vital access to affordable food. Many thanks to Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his team for this investment in Hunts Point and our Bronx residents.”

Hunts Point is a community where more than half of households have relied on public assistance within the last year, and where a staggering 77% of households in surrounding neighborhoods struggle to afford basic necessities.

First announced in April, the N.Y.C. Groceries Project is a NYCEDC initiative designed to lower the cost of everyday essentials by utilizing City-owned property, where available, to reduce overhead costs that are currently passed on to consumers. Mayor Mamdani has allocated $70 million in capital funding to develop five grocery store sites across the five boroughs. 

“From the very beginning, the Hunts Point community was clear: The Peninsula should become a vibrant, mixed-use center that provides not just affordable housing but also the amenities residents need and deserve,” said James Patchett, CEO of Gilbane Development. “A neighborhood grocery store was central to our vision from day one and we are excited to officially announce a new supermarket. Once opened, it will have an immediate impact on the community and serve as another powerful reminder of how our campus is making Hunts Point healthier and more affordable for generations to come.”

“The Hudson Companies is proud to support Mayor Mamdani’s effort to bring affordable, high-quality groceries directly to Bronx residents who need them most,” said David Kramer, President of The Hudson Companies. “Integrating a public grocery store into The Peninsula reflects our commitment to building developments that combine housing with neighborhood infrastructure, improving everyday quality of life. We look forward to partnering with City Hall and NYCEDC to expand food access in The Bronx and help build stronger, healthier communities.”

Mayor Mamdani’s decision to site a municipal grocery store at The Peninsula builds on the City’s broader commitment to transforming the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Facility — once known for dangerous and inhumane conditions — into a community-centered development with affordable housing, early childhood education, wellness services, public open space, and soon, New York City’s first operational public grocery store.

Sites submitted through the N.Y.C. Groceries Portal will be reviewed by NYCEDC to identify and advance potential locations for further consideration. Eligible sites must include at least 10,000 square feet of retail space and be available on a timeline that supports opening of a grocery store by 2029. 

NYCEDC is also preparing a request for proposals for private operators to manage the stores, which is expected to be released this summer.

The N.Y.C. Groceries Sites Portal will remain open until locations in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island have been identified. Additional information is available on the N.Y.C. Groceries webpage.

via the Riverdale Press, May 8, 2026

Once a central gathering place for school sports and community events, the city has determined the long-shuttered stadium building at Van Cortlandt Park is beyond repair, with demolition now considered inevitable — even as funding to carry it out remains uncertain.

The conclusion follows a comprehensive planning study by the New York City Parks Department, which found the structure to be unsound after a yearlong engineering review. While the building has been closed to the public for years, officials say its deterioration has reached a point where continued maintenance is only a temporary measure.

Parks officials outlined both the building’s decline and the difficult reality facing the city. Jessenia Aponte, the Bronx borough commissioner for the department, said the building’s fate is sealed, though no timeline has been set.

“Those efforts led to a clear and difficult conclusion that the building has deteriorated beyond repair and will need to be demolished,” Aponte said. “At this point, the question is not if, but when.”

Constructed at the park’s southwest corner between 1937 and 1939 as part of a Works Progress Administration project — a federal initiative that funded public works during the Great Depression — the 3,000-seat stadium opened with a track meet and a football game between Manhattan College and Fordham University, presided by Robert Moses and Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.

Over time, it evolved into a hub for recreation, with handball courts, baseball diamonds and a running track surrounding the stadium. But the land beneath it has contributed to its decline. Before the park was established, the area was largely wetland, later filled to make it usable. Those conditions continue to affect the site today, influencing drainage, soil stability and the long-term durability of any structure built there.

Marlisa Wise, director of architecture for the parks department, said the building’s foundation reflects that mismatch between design and environment.

“The current building foundation is on a shallow foundation, which is not what any architect or engineer would design to date for this kind of swampy soil,” she said. “In all honesty, the foundation is really not appropriate for the soil that the building sits on.”

That instability, combined with decades of exposure to the elements, has led to widespread structural damage. Engineers documented extensive cracking, water infiltration and corrosion throughout the building.

“The concrete is severely deteriorated, and you can see that the structural steel reinforcing is exposed and corroded, so it is in very poor structural condition,” Wise explained. “Water is basically moving through the concrete, busting the steel that’s in there, and causing the concrete to fall and deteriorate.”

Inside, the situation is equally severe. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems are largely nonfunctional, and hazardous materials, including asbestos, lead-based paint and other toxic substances, have been identified throughout the structure.

According to the parks department, its Capital Architecture division has no records of any significant work having been done on the building since its initial construction.

Together, those conditions led engineers to conclude that preservation is not feasible.

“Keeping existing beams, columns, walls and foundation is not feasible in the long term and will require complete demolition and rebuilding,” Wise said.

For Deb Travis, chair of Community Board 8’s Parks and Recreation Committee, the findings confirmed what many in the community had long suspected, even as they raised broader concerns about long-term investment.

“I wasn’t surprised by them saying that they thought that it needed to be torn down,” Travis said. “It’s really unfortunate that the lack of ongoing funding has led to this.”

She added that the community hopes to retain elements of the stadium’s history in whatever replaces it, even as the building itself cannot be preserved.

The city has not yet established a timeline for funding or redevelopment. Still, parks officials said demolition is part of a broader long-term vision that extends beyond the structure building to the roughly 21-acre surroundings that make up the stadium, including athletic fields, courts and other recreational space. The study outlines potential upgrades across that section of the park, though funding for the plan has not yet been secured.

Christina Taylor, deputy director of the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, said the urgency now lies in moving forward, warning that delays could increase costs and prolong the park’s limitations.

She said moving ahead quickly would help prevent further deterioration of the site and allow for a coordinated redevelopment that brings the fields and facilities up to modern standards, rather than intermittent improvements over time.

In the interim, the department is considering ways to maintain recreational use, including the potential relocation of courts and other amenities.

“These could include removing the existing structure and installing simpler amenities like metal benches or handball courts, or potentially constructing new handball courts and another area before demolition occurs,” Wise said.

As the building continues to deteriorate, safety remains a primary concern. Engineers will conduct regular inspections, and additional protective measures may be required over time.

“This is what happens when you don’t invest in infrastructure over time, you reach a point where there’s no choice left but to start over,” Travis said. “At this point, it’s not just about what we’re losing. It’s about making sure what comes next actually serves the community.”