City Planning Commission Approves Bronx Metro-North Station Area Plan

Sketch of new Morris Park Station, courtesy of New York CitySketch of new Morris Park Station, courtesy of New York City

The New York City Planning Commission recently voted in favor of the Bronx Metro-North Station Area Plan, which aims to bring nearly 7,500 new homes, including 1,900 permanently income-restricted units, and 10,000 jobs to areas around four new Metro-North stations coming to the East Bronx neighborhoods of Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park, Hunts Point, and Co-op City. The new Metro-North stations, expected to open in 2027, are planned to connect East Bronx residents to opportunities across the borough and region while reducing car usage.

The approved plan encompasses several components to transform the surrounding neighborhoods of the new stations. It will allow for residential development in sections of Parkchester/Van Nest that are currently restricted to commercial and manufacturing uses, while also increasing permitted residential density in parts of Parkchester/Van Nest and Morris Park. Additionally, the plan will strengthen commercial corridors and support major institutions, such as hospitals, to stimulate job growth in the area.

Beyond that, the plan explores the possibility of establishing a new STEAM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) high school, and includes infrastructure and public space improvements around the new stations.

“The Bronx Metro-North Station plan represents another crucial investment for The Bronx and the creation of vibrant community neighborhood space,” said New York City parks commissioner Sue Donoghue. “Accessible public spaces strengthen the social fabric of neighborhoods, and this ambitious plan will expand public space access for Bronx residents while connecting them with thousands of great jobs, public transit, and affordable housing. The Adams administration continues to provide opportunities and make investments that will benefit The Bronx and New York City for generations to come, making our communities more livable, accessible, and equitable.”

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10 Comments on "City Planning Commission Approves Bronx Metro-North Station Area Plan"

  1. David of Flushing | June 28, 2024 at 7:57 am | Reply

    I used to work next to the abandoned station where the elevated tracks cross Eastchester Road. The new station will be further north at Morris Park Ave. Currently, the location is a one-story district for auto repairs, etc. The question is whether the express buses to Manhattan will remain more popular. There are only two tracks and the issue of frequency of service might be a problem.

    The lack of subway service to Co-op City has long been a complaint. Many residents take the bus to the Pelham Bay #6 terminus, about 1.5 miles away.

    • The station at the end of Morris Park Ave for now is surrounded on one side by automotive related businesses. The rest of the area on both sides of the track is by far medical facilities and growing. These zoning changes will increase density in these areas significantly.

      • Yeah I am a small business proponent but auto businesses don’t belong near mass transit. I think there should be space for them not far by in the Zerega Ave industrial corridor

  2. David : Sent From Heaven. | June 28, 2024 at 9:55 am | Reply

    Science, technology, engineering and mathematics they are equally important, which helps and support this development plan: Thanks.

  3. Now we need to talk about extending the A, E, and F to the City line in Queens and the 2 – 5 lines to the limits of the city in Brooklyn. And rezone around the new stations accordingly.

    • I was born in Bklyn in ’48 and will be 76 y/o soon. I am a retired NY trial lawyer now living out West in AZ, but go back every other month to the City and LI. YOU ARE DREAMING. It has taken my entire lifetime just to have the IND and LIRR go through the 63rd street tunnel from its initial construction in 1968, and the 2nd Avd subway (a little bitty portion) a few years ago. What you want has been proposed throughout my lifetime. The reason the extensions were never built is that the cost, even back when I was a baby, was prohibitive and the potential usage of the extensions was considered. As for myself, I had to schlep on a bus to get to Jamaica IND or Flushing IRT from my home in Fresh Meadows; it’s no different today for those living where I did today.

    • They could already upzone the areas near LIRR stations

  4. One thing they left out of the plan in the locations targeted were pedestrian bridges over the Hutchison River Parkway near both the Morris Park and Co-op City locations.

    Co-op City and Hunts Point needed rezonings too to allow more density near the stations. Parkchester’s rezoning was more limited in area than it should have been.

  5. mike from the bronx | June 29, 2024 at 12:23 am | Reply

    10,000 jobs ? A nice round number pulled from a magician’s hat maybe?

    • When doing estimations and projections, you calculate to the significant figures and zero the rest. There’s likely two sig figs in the result they got.

      Rounding is a sign that they were being thorough and giving you only the information they could actually calculate, not just applying formulas randomly. I’d be way more concerned about their work if they said “this will produce 10,531 jobs”

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