Five-story, 10-unit apartment building to replace PB house

Five-story, 10-unit apartment building to replace PB house
Community News Group/Sarah Valenzuela

A building proposed for Pelham Bay may be a foreshadowing of the neighborhood’s future.

On Friday, November 17 an application was filed for the construction of a five-story building at 1730 Edison Avenue, a block primarily comprised of single- and two-family homes.

Though the full building plan is not known at this time, community residents are concerned the property may cause more congestion within the already densely-populated area.

“This block is really homey and cozy and it’s really family oriented so I don’t know if bringing a building with five stories, how that would change the dynamics of the block,” said 46-year-old Ernesto Llorente, who lives on the block.

The building would replace a modest 1920s two-story wood-frame house that currently occupies the site and, if implemented, would be the tallest structure on the block.

“I don’t see how they’re going to do that (build a 5-story building),” the property’s next door neighbor remarked. “I still don’t see how they’re going to build a five-story apartment building between (those) two houses.”

Even though the parcel is several hundred feet from Westchester Avenue and the #6 IRT Buhre Avenue train station, Pelham Bay residents are concerned about the impact it will have on the already scarce street parking situation.

Other local developers have built on Buhre Avenue and Middletown Road recently without providing off street parking for the new tenants.

The assumption has been that people who live close to train lines do not own vehicles and mostly rely on public transportation and cabs.

“For Pelham Bay, the zoning that we have already in place is not really working for the needs of the community,” said Michele Torrioni, who has lived in the community her entire life and now at 50-years-old, she is the president of the Pelham Bay Taxpayers Association.

“The first thing people talk about when you go to any civic meeting is there’s nowhere to park a car. When are we going to start down-zoning our area?” she concluded.

District manager Matthew Cruz of Community Board 10 said he received notification of the building application from a NYC Department of Buildings email on Monday, November 20.

“This is a another property Pelham Bay will see that doesn’t fit the character of the current community,” Cruz said. “Over the long term, if this is the way the (housing) market is moving, we look forward to working with our new council member to ensure that we can protect the character of Pelham Bay.”

A community facility is proposed for the ground floor in the application for the project, according to public data retrieved from DOB.

Floors 2 through 5. will have two apartments each. There was no mention of on-site parking.

When the Bronx Times Reporter contacted Kurv Architecture, the company designing the building, he did not offer any further details.

DOB is still reviewing the application.

The new owners of the property have also chosen not to comment as the project is still in the planning phase, according to the architect.

An application to demolish the current structure has not been filed yet.

Reach Reporter Sarah Valenzuela at (718) 260-4584. E-mail her at svalenzuela@cnglocal.com.