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Rezoning plan plagued Bronx re-election bid for city councilmember
By
David Brand
and
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Nov 8, 2023
Modified Nov 9, 2023
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Care of Throggs Neck Associates LLC
By
David Brand
and
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Nov 8, 2023
Modified Nov 9, 2023
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A controversial rezoning proved to be a central issue in a heated City Council race in the East Bronx, where Democratic incumbent Marjorie Velázquez trailed her Republican challenger Kristy Marmorato by more than 700 votes on Wednesday.
The plan allows for 350 new apartments to be built along a stretch of Bruckner Boulevard, 99 of which would have rents capped for low- to middle-income New Yorkers.
After trashing the proposal for months, Velázquez changed her tune last October and backed the rezoning before it was approved by the City Council.
The approval faced furious opposition from locals. While some invoked racist tropes and equated “affordable housing” with a rise in crime, others said they simply did not want taller buildings in their community.
Throgs Neck resident Michael Lopiano shared that sentiment on Wednesday.
“It’s safe over here and people want a safe area,” said Lopiano, 52. “I wasn’t in favor of that housing at all. It has always been a commercial area over here… You don’t know what type of people they’re going to be.”
Marmorato, who’s the sister of Bronx Republican chair Michael Rendino, campaigned on the issue — and called Velázquez's about-face “heartbreaking,” according to the Bronx Times. She declared victory on Wednesday, though the election is not final until the district’s write-in and absentee ballots are counted.
If Marmorato maintains her lead, she’ll become the only Republican councilmember from the Bronx. And her victory would come in a district that overlaps with the one held by left-wing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Representatives for both Velázquez and Marmorato did not respond to requests for comment.
Roxanne Delgado, founder of the civic association Friends of Pelham Parkway, said Velázquez's reversal on the rezoning hurt her chances of keeping her seat in the Council.
“It wasn’t that she supported it, it was the way she handled it,” Delgado said.
Throgs Neck resident Dennise Laboy, 55, said Velázquez's last-minute push to approve the rezoning last year incensed her and many of her neighbors.
“They feel offended. They didn’t feel support from Velázquez,” said Laboy. “It’s because she signed some contract in order to put a public residence here, and they don’t want that.”
Velázquez opted to back the rezoning last year when labor unions threw their support behind the plan — and fellow councilmembers warned they had the votes to override her objection.
The plan’s approval came amid a dearth of affordable housing in the area over the last decade. Between 2014 and 2021, just 58 units of income-restricted housing were developed in Velázquez’s 13th Council district, among the lowest levels in the city, according to city data.
Another plan to convert a vacant building on the grounds of Jacobi Hospital into a supportive housing site for sick and disabled New Yorkers with criminal justice histories has remained another contentious issue in the area, with signs denouncing the proposals lining the tidy lawns outside homes in the neighboring Indian Village community.
Betting company Bally’s pitch to build a casino at the foot of the Whitestone Bridge buying the contract to operate Trump Golf Links Ferry Point earlier this year is also sparking opposition.
Delgado said she and some neighbors worried that Velázquez would be swayed to support the casino plan.
“I’m not against development, but it can’t be at the expense of the community,” Delgado said.
The headline of this story has been updated.
Tagged
new york city
housing
Politics
bronx
David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
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Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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