Northeast Bronx residents may have been fooled. While they were told three years ago a shelter wasn’t coming to Community Board 11, it seems one is being built.
In July 2021, NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) announced the single men’s 200-bed shelter, which was set to be constructed at 1682 Stillwell Ave. near private homes and schools, instead will now be located at 2443 Poplar St. in Westchester Square and a community health center will come to Stillwell. Yet, it still appears a shelter is being constructed at that site.
While plans call for a the conversion of a one-story building to a six-story community facility, the certificate of occupancy preview says there will be 40 units with 25 beds per floor on four floors.
According to Andrew Rudansky, press secretary for the New York City Department of Buildings, (DOB) this will be an independent out-of-hospital health facility with sleeping accommodations for patients and is being built under Use Group 4. The zoning lot of 1682 Stillwell Ave. is in a M1-1 / R6A district and use of group 4 is allowed in those districts, according to the DOB.
This is as-of-right, meaning the proposed development complies with the zoning for the property, and therefore does not need to go the NYC Planning Department to request a rezoning or request a variance from the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA).
However, Use Group 4 does not actually allow sleeping accommodations — those parameters fall under Use Group 3, which is not allowed in this M zoning.
The developer, BILD Architecture, is building on the R6 portion and not the M1. This means they don’t need a special permit to put a shelter there under Use Group 3, but require a letter approving from NYC Housing Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) for Use Group 3.
While plans have not been approved yet, a source told the Bronx Times the developer is pulling a “rope a dope,” where they will switch the code to Use Group 3 just before they are set to open, a common loophole used by many developers. This is typical where a site is built under one Use Group and Post Approval Amendments (PAA) are filed to change Use Group at the last minute. Details of PAA are not available for public view on DOB websites. The latter is evident, as Use Group 4 does not allow sleeping accommodations, but the facility is clearly building for sleeping accommodations.
Representatives from NYC Department of Homeless Services and HPD said a shelter is not being built at 1682 Stilwell Ave. at this time. Also, Sen. Nathalia Fernandez, who represents the northeast Bronx, could not be reached for comment before press time.
The property owners and their construction professionals have active work permits for the original six-story building, which was first permitted June 16, 2022. These permits were renewed Oct. 19, 2023. The plans have yet to be approved by DOB.
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