DEVELOPED BY THE CITY OF NEW YORK 2008 S O U th B ron X INITIATIVE THE PEOPLE THE NEIGHBORHOODS THE VISION E 170th St Claremont Park Crotona Park 1 160th St SOUTH BRONX ASSETS & CONTEXT E 167th St John A REGIONAL CONTEXT C Mullaly Jerome Ave McClellan St Park W 162nd St Metro North 4 Broadway New Grand ConcourseBronx Museum of the Arts Study Area Metro North D 155th St B D Yankee Stadium B E 165th St Joyce Macombs Kilmer Study Area Washington Ave Boston Ave Dam Park Park Webster Ave Lou Gehrig Yankee Stadium Heritage Plaza Field Park Melrose Metro Third Ave Metro North Station 150th St Bronx County Bronx County North Station Amsterdam Ave Building Hall of Justice E 161st St Boricua Village River Ave Frederick Douglass Blvd Park Ave E 163rd St D 3 WaltonFranz Ave Morris Ave B 145th St Sigel Tinton Ave Harlem River Park Mott Haven Schools Melrose Ave C Gateway E 161st St Prospect Ave A Waterfront Parks E 156th St Sunflower Way Center 4 Grand Concourse 153rd Street P.S. 29 Ballfield Pregones Theater Bridge The Orion Westchester Ave 7th Ave The Hub Retail and 2 Hostos E 156st St Office Center 5 140th St Community 2 146th St College Via Verde/ E 149th St Plaza The Greenway at the M A N H A T T A N 2 5 Hub 3 Lincoln 2 Hospital Workforce1 Center Major Deegan Expwy (I-87) Lenox Ave E 149th St 5 Third Ave 135th St Metro NorthB R O N X 4 6 138th St 5th Ave Mott Haven St Marys HARLEM RIVER St Ann's Ave Jackson Ave Historic District Park Existing & Planned Assets 130th St Existing / Under Construction Madison Ave Brook Ave 6 Willis Ave E 135th St Planned 6 5 Planned / Under Construction Open Space 125th St Park Ave 4 S O U th B ron X I nitiative6 S trategic P lan Bruckner Expwy The South Bronx is rebounding as an area with safe, vibrant Economic Development and Rebuilding, to identify community neighborhoods and a growing economy. Guiding this change priorities and create a coordinated economic development strategy for are grassroots efforts and partnerships between community the area. The team includes the Departments of City Planning (DCP), stakeholders, elected officials, and government agencies committed Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), Parks & Recreation to improving quality of life and creating new opportunities for current (DPR), Small Business Services (SBS), and Transportation (DOT), and and future residents. the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). As a result, over $3 billion of public/private investment and new This plan is the product of an extensive planning and outreach development, including the Boricua Village mixed-use campus, process that included over 35 meetings with community stakeholders anchor retail at Gateway Center, and Harlem River waterfront parks, and elected officials. It articulates a vision and recommendations will create almost 16,000 construction and permanent jobs and lay for strengthening connections between existing assets and recent the groundwork for additional, sustainable growth. investments, supporting additional growth, and addressing To guide future land use changes and capital investments that community concerns. Continued collaboration and dialogue with address community concerns, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg community stakeholders and elected officials will be essential announced the “South Bronx Initiative” (SBI) in 2006 and charged for implementing the plan and ensuring that a shared vision of a an interagency team, led by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for prosperous South Bronx is fully realized in the years to come. • Total population in the SBI area THE PEOPLE is over 300,000 and will grow an additional 10% by 2030. With over 300,000 residents, the SBI study area in high-need, low-income neighborhoods like Mott is home to a diverse immigrant population and Haven and Melrose. Through the Young Adult • 35% of the area’s residents Internship program and Service Learning program, the largest youth population in the city. are under 18 years of age, disconnected youth are receiving support from City compared to 24% citywide. The area, located in Congressional District 16, had agencies and community organizations to connect to • Over the past 5 years, almost an 8% unemployment rate in 2006, compared to education, jobs, and leadership development. 300 businesses and 2,454 jobs 5% citywide. By improving coordination and Coordinated partnerships to provide training and have been created in the targeting investments in after-school and workforce job placement programs are also helping working SBI area. development programs, the City seeks to support adults build their skills and advance their careers. young and working adults in their academic Since 2004, the Workforce1 Center at the Hub has • Over the past 12 months, the development and search for permanent employment. placed more than 5,600 residents in jobs. With three Workforce1 Center has issued 470 Individual Training Grant Since December 2006, the City’s Center for new CEO-funded staff and direct collaboration vouchers to residents seeking Economic Opportunity (CEO) has been with community-based organizations, the Center is employment and advancement. implementing initiatives aimed at reducing poised to target South Bronx residents and increase poverty citywide and addressing specific challenges job placements by 100 per quarter. • Over the last 7 years, more THE NEIGHBORHOODS than 2,300 units have been built or are under construction innovative affordable housing projects like Sunflower While the “South Bronx” originated as a small on public sites in Melrose Way and Via Verde/The Greenway. section of Mott Haven, the name grew to Commons, and up to 1,400 encompass many neighborhoods, each with The development of the first new mid-rise more units will come online its unique history and character. co-ops and condos in decades, including the Orion by 2010. in Melrose, will enable moderate and middle-income • Over 2,500 units of moderate These neighborhoods vary from the growing families to stay in the South Bronx and lay the and middle-income housing are residential community in Melrose, the bustling foundation for balanced retail communities. projected for public and private retail district at the Hub, and the emerging antiques sites in the SBI area by 2010. district in Port Morris, to the historic Art Deco Rezonings, too, in Port Morris and Morrisania, have set the stage for creating economically diverse buildings of the Grand Concourse, and the Bronx • A new Metro North station at communities, by retaining industrial businesses Civic Center along East 161st Street. Yankee Stadium, scheduled and jobs for local residents, while encouraging the to open in 2009, will increase The neighborhoods in the South Bronx are development of housing and neighborhood retail. public transportation options becoming more environmentally sustainable, for residents and visitors transit-oriented, and economically diverse, thanks year-round. to public/private partnerships that are developing THE VISION Partnerships between the City, community, and private sector will build upon the South Bronx’s existing assets and potential to enhance and sustain revitalized neighborhoods that include: • Affordable housing for people of diverse incomes; • A publicly-accessible waterfront; • Vibrant commercial districts with year-round destinations; • An efficient transportation network; and • Attractive streetscapes, public spaces, and parks; • A diverse economy providing jobs for local residents. PLAN FOCUS AREAS This plan seeks to link existing assets with recent investments, support additional growth, and address the community’s quality of life concerns. The interagency team focused on three areas with significant opportunities to achieve these goals, given the availability of City-owned land, proximity to transit, and potential to redevelop privately-owned vacant and underutilized land through rezonings. These three focus areas fall within Community Districts 1, 3, and 4, with major thoroughfares like 149th Street, 161st Street, Third Avenue, and the Grand Concourse providing critical transportation and retail connections. Highbridge MELROSE COMMONS / THIRD AVENUE B D 4 D B Study Area Macombs Morrisania Dam Bridge BRONX CIVIC CENTER Morrisania 161st Street Rezoning A thriving residential area, where City, community, and private partnerships are Concourse establishing a mixed-use, economically Village diverse neighborhood. Bro e nx Co s 3 r m u munit 3 o ict c 4 y istr BRONX CIVIC CENTER n ct Melrose D o ri C t t 1 4 d is ic n D tr MELROSE COMMONS / ra y River Avenue t is G i D THIRD AVENUE un ty 145th St m i om un C m Bridge m nx o 2 ro C B nx 5 ro B 2 venue 149th Street A An urban center with a strong civic and Third office core, bolstered by new and enhanced LOWER GRAND CONCOURSE 2 5 The Hub regional destinations like Yankee Stadium, 3 Gateway Center, Harlem River waterfront 2 parks, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts. HARLEM RIVER 5 Madison Ave 4 LOWER GRAND CONCOURSE Bridge 6 138th Street Port Morris Mott Haven 6 6 5 4 An area surrounding the Grand Concourse, Port Morris south of East 149th Street, characterized Rezoning Third Ave by multi-story industrial loft buildings, Bridge excellent highway and subway access, and 6 its proximity to the Harlem River waterfront. Melrose commons / THIRD AVENUE Melrose Commons is the realization of a The Hub is a regional commercial center system at the Hub, while spurring collaborative process involving an engaged of the South Bronx, where more than additional development. community, the City, and the Bronx 200,000 pedestrians pass through daily. Borough President. Since implementation of By 2010, there will be approximately Melrose Commons is envisioned as an the Melrose Commons Urban Renewal Plan 400,000 square feet of retail space built attractive mixed-income urban village with in 2000, over 2,300 units have been built or on public sites around Melrose Commons balanced neighborhood retail, new parks, and are under construction.