Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Marisa Lago today announced the introduction of remote office hours for New Yorkers to continue to plan for and around four new Metro-North stations coming to the East Bronx. These office hours provide a convenient time and place for members of the public to ask questions and offer ideas to DCP planners, to help ensure the coming Hunts Point, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park and Co-op City stations support the community’s current and future needs.
“Four new Bronx Metro-North stations are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform transit access in the East Bronx,”Lago said. “ These new stations need to integrate seamlessly into their neighborhoods, which means that DCP needs to hear directly from the New Yorkers who know these neighborhoods best – and that means you. With these remote office hours, DCP’s planners will be on-hand to answer your questions, hear your perspectives and work alongside you towards a brighter, more transit-accessible future.”
Office hours are the latest in DCP’s public engagement for the new Metro-North service planned for the East Bronx. The public can ask questions and talk to team members one-on-one, or in a small group calling from the same device, for 15-minute bookings every Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. Office hours can be reserved here. People can sign up for the meetings up to 30 days in advance, starting on July 2.
In addition to office hours, DCP will continue to seek feedback and ideas from the public through a remote open house and upcoming remote workshops:
A workshop for Parkchester/Van Nest is scheduled for June 24 at 5:30 p.m.
A workshop for Morris Park is scheduled for June 29 at 5:30 p.m.
To learn how to participate online or by calling from any phone, and to view DCP’s interactive webpage with videos, maps and surveys, please visit our website.
Since the study started in 2018, DCP has worked alongside the MTA, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., the NYC Department of Transportation, the NYC Economic Development Corporation and other stakeholders to advance public engagement on the new stations via workshops, meetings and additional events with community members and city agencies concerning the transit-accessible project.
The new stations are set to open after completion of the Penn Station Access project in the coming years, which will provide Metro-North riders with a direct route into Penn Station, significantly reducing commute times to and from the East Bronx for the first time in more than a century.
DCP aims to release a final plan for these four station areas by the end of this year.
