On Jan. 22, 2024, the City Planning Commission commenced the public review process for land use actions surrounding two planned Metro-North Railroad stations in the Parkchester/Van Nest and Morris Park neighborhoods of the East Bronx. The MTA is planning four new stations in the East Bronx that will provide direct access to Penn Station (the other two stations will be located in the Hunts Point and Co-Op City neighborhoods). The four stations are anticipated to open in 2027.

The proposed land use actions, which include zoning map amendments, zoning text amendments —including mapping a special purpose district and designating a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area to ensure affordable housing is part of any future development — and changes to the city map, will update the zoning in an approximately 46-block area surrounding the future Parkchester/Van Nest and Morris Park Metro-North stations. Much of the existing zoning, which has not changed since 1961, favors industrial- and automotive-focused uses. The land use actions seek to leverage planned Metro-North service to promote economic growth, facilitate the development of housing, including affordable housing, and guide investment in the public realm around the new stations. As a result of the new zoning, the Department of City Planning is predicting approximately 7,500 new units of housing and the creation of 10,000 new jobs by bolstering key commercial corridors, establishing workforce training programs and supporting important neighborhood institutions and job centers, such as Montefiore Hospital, Jacobi Medical Center, Calvary Hospital and Hutchinson Metro Center.

Today’s certification begins the roughly seven-month Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which includes recommendations from Community Boards 9, 10 and 11 and Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson, followed by votes at the City Planning Commission and then the City Council. Kramer Levin will continue to monitor the proposal as it makes its way through the process.