Today, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. has issued his official response to the Related Cos., the developer of the proposed Kingsbridge Armory project, following the developer’s answers to the Borough President’s concerns about the project as outlined in his ULURP recommendation issued in August and subsequent testimony before the City Planning Commission.
“It is upsetting that, rather than address the legitimate concerns of the Bronx community surrounding this development, on issues ranging from traffic to business impact, the Related Cos. and its consultant have simply chosen to dismiss, if not outright ignore, issues raised by my office,” said Borough President Diaz.
Issues that have not been appropriately addressed by Related include the lack of a market study, inadequate study of the development’s potential impact on area traffic, a total refusal to consider the development’s impact on area bus routes, the negative impact of paid parking on the proposed retail center’s customer base and the inclusion of far too few parking spaces.
“In many cases, the Related Cos. responses to the questions raised by my office seem to have been issued without any real consideration of those concerns, as though the answer was predetermined before the question was even asked, which is no way to formulate responsible public policy. I hope that the developer will take another look at my concerns—which were put forward only after months of careful consideration and discussion with numerous community organizations—and offer my office a real response on these issues,” said Borough President Diaz.
Download the Related Cos. response to BP’s ULURP recommendations.