As most of you know by now, our neighborhood is under attack by greedy developers who want to change our zoning and take over Bruckner Boulevard — from Crosby Avenue to Gifford Avenue near St. Raymond’s Cemetery — to build four high-rise apartment buildings.
An entity know as “The Throggs Neck Associates LLC” led by one of the owners of Food Town has sent a letter to the NYC Planning Commission asking for zoning changes. While many properties are listed to be upzoned, many of the owners were not aware this attempt was taking place.
In 2004, the City Council and the Department of City Planning both approved our downzoning as part of the Throggs Neck rezoning. All of Schuylerville and most of Throggs Neck were granted downzoning to R4A which means only one- and two-family detached homes can be built going forward to preserve the character of the neighborhood.
We are a “low density growth management zone.” Changing this quiet, low-density neighborhood into something resembling Manhattan will not improve Schuylerville. Our schools, Fire Department and Police Department cannot handle any increase in population. The needs of our community must take priority over greedy developers. The infrastructure must be considered and preserved.
In this election year, both present and future elected officials have been contacted to gain support to preserve our neighborhood. Petitions have been created both online and on paper. Every civic organization in Throggs Neck, Pelham Bay, Schuylerville and Country Club have been inundated with phone calls, with people asking “ is this true” and “how can we stop this from going forward.”
If the developers win, this will be the end of our way of life. Recently PS 14 was enlarged to alleviate the overcrowding at neighboring PS 71; an increase in population will put us back to where we started breaking our public schools. Our Fire Department will be overwhelmed and our Police Department will be the hardest hit. We have the largest precinct by footprint, but we don’t have enough police to protect the area they cover now. This is not the fault of the police, it is the fault of the administration in City Hall . You can help by getting signatures on petitions. Please contact us by email www.waterburylasalle@yahoo.com.
We are planning to restart our in-person monthly meetings soon. We rely on your dues to run our organization. We don’t get any help from our elected officials. Please send your $10 yearly dues to Waterbury LaSalle Community Association, 1145 Hobart Ave., Bronx, N.Y. 10461. We are a 501c(3) charity, which means donations over and above dues are tax deductible.
Stay well and stay safe during this crisis. We will get through this.
