As real estate development in Yonkers continues to surge, city officials have turned their focus to South Broadway, a major commercial thoroughfare that could undergo significant transformation if zoning changes and infrastructure projects move forward.
The new redevelopment effort, said to be a priority of Mayor Mike Spano, began this spring, when the city retained the consulting firm BFJ Planning to study the south-to-north corridor that runs from the city’s Bronx border to Park Hill Avenue. The consultants hosted a community meeting in early June, and a second is now set for Nov. 5. The group is expected to present a preliminary zoning plan at the meeting.
After many years of rapid development along the waterfront, projects in new areas become more attractive. “The interest, the excitement, the market, builds on itself,” says Melissa Kaplan, deputy commissioner of planning and development. “So starting with the waterfront and the downtown, and now we’re seeing more activity in other areas. And so that’s why South Broadway is a really important place to be taking a look at right now.”
New development would require zoning changes, particularly changes that would allow taller buildings along the street. “We obviously want to see more development,” Kaplan says. “We want to see more housing choices on South Broadway.”
Apartments and senior citizen units are not allowed under the current zoning regulations for South Broadway’s Central Subdistrict, which also includes some side streets, though many existing buildings there are multifamily housing. Zoning in that subdistrict imposes a 40-foot height limit.
In other subdistricts, apartments are permitted — up to 80 feet in one, and up to 120 feet in the north and south subdistricts.
A pedestrian walking today’s South Broadway encounters a range of uses, which reflect the differently zoned areas. Most of the blocks have older, low-rise commercial buildings. Bodegas, discount stores, small restaurants, banks and medical offices serve the largely immigrant population that lives in apartment buildings and multifamily houses on the side streets.
In areas where apartments are allowed, there are prewar and postwar buildings. And particularly at the north and south ends of the street, there are used-car lots, big laundromats and a fair number of vacant lots.
There are notable vacancies throughout, including the former home of longtime grocery discounter Top Tomato and a large adjoining space, a former Rite Aid. Close to those vacancies, on the other side of the street, stands the Park Hill Theater, the onetime movie palace that has been mostly empty for years.
Leaders of the South Broadway business community seem to be open to the new plan. “The neighborhood and the street itself can really absorb a considerably greater number of residential structures,” says Dennis Monasebian, chairman of the South Broadway Business Improvement District and a South Broadway real estate investor. “We have a lot of land, we have a lot of transportation,” he continues. “This really checks off all the boxes.”
The zoning changes would be the first since 2011. That era’s plan didn’t focus on housing supply, but put an emphasis on gentrification of the commercial district. “South Broadway does not necessarily need new residents to bring new uses and a broader array of tenants, such as coffee shops and wine stores: the existing population in the surrounding area could support these uses,” a 2009 study said.
Projects are already underway or under discussion. A 16-story affordable rental building is slated at the city limit at Caryl Avenue. To the north, a building with 181 affordable apartments has been in the works, to be located on the site of the South Broadway post office, a parking lot and the current Sinatra Funeral Home.
Neighborhood groups fear that development will mean gentrification. Monasebian argues that South Broadway can change without pushing out current residents. “There are so many properties that are commercial, if all of them were converted you would not touch one existing resident,” he says. “We can go full steam ahead without hurting a single residential tenant. That’s a really big plus.”
Along with possible zoning changes, the redevelopment effort may include new investment in infrastructure such as sidewalks, lighting, transit and the street itself. At the June meeting, one of the principles the consultants presented was to “improve the public realm, walkability, and safety.”
A project that parallels the infrastructure investment is known as the South Broadway Greenway, a plan that has been under consideration since 2008. Community activists from the Lawrence Street area hatched the plan, which was then championed by Groundwork Hudson Valley and city officials. Groundwork took the lead on the project, with planning work funded by a series of public and philanthropic grants.
The greenway would add bike lanes to South Broadway, creating a route that would take cyclists from the New York City border to the Yonkers train station. The second major part of the plan would create a park and bike path along the rail bed that runs through southwest Yonkers, paralleling South Broadway for much of the way.
By 2022, city officials said that the greenway would begin within months. State funding of $3.7 million provided the budget, although another $1 million was needed at the time to fully realize the design. State involvement came into play because Broadway — possibly the world’s most famous street — is a state roadway, subject to state regulatory control.
Although a new playground off Lawrence Street was completed in 2019, the rest of the greenway was never built, and most of the rail bed remains unchanged.
City planning officials are optimistic that they can revive much of the old plan. “The project is moving forward,” Kaplan says. “We are working with our partners at New York State Department of Transportation on the approval.”
The community meeting will be Thursday, Nov. 5, 6 p.m. , at Silvio’s Restaurant, 351 South Broadway.
For more information:
Mayor Mike Spano’s announcement of the new initiative
Planning consultant June presentation
2023 Greenway plan
