The development of apartment houses along Palisade Avenue, by special permit, authorizations and waivers in an R1 zone, will upend the community's 197-a Master Plan and establish a precedent that over time will destroy the special natural and bucolic nature of this unique area.

The Proposal

The proposal was for 300 new, independent-living apartments arranged in several mid-rise buildings on this 14-acre site. The new property, formerly a religious retreat house with ample open grounds, is zoned R1-1, the lowest residential zoning district in the city, and is developed with a 3-story, Victorian mansion and a 3-story, U-shaped brick retreat facility that is set back from the street. There are also several smaller buildings on the site. The property is also located within the Special Natural Area District.

Hebrew Home seeks to bring the Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) model of senior living to NYC. CCRCs are currently not an allowed use in NYC zoning law.

A Special Permit will be needed for approval of this proposal. The Special Permit must go through NYC's ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure). The procedure will look at impacts on the neighborhood including design and neighborhood compatibility, traffic and environmental impacts.

December 2016 Update

Zoning for Quality and Affordabilty (ZQA) and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) were two amendments to NYC's zoning law that were introduced by the NYC Department of City Planning in early 2015 and adopted by the NY City Council on March 22, 2016.

In approving ZQA, the City Council made it possible to build long-term care facilities in New York City's lowest-density residential districts, R1 and R2.

Recognizing the intrusion these developments will likely make into low-density neighborhoods, the City Council required developers to apply for a special permit and to demonstrate that the facilities will:

The Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riverdale is a test case for ZQA. In 2017, the Preservancy will remain firmly committed to seeing the proposed Hebrew Home development meet its obligations under our 197-a Plan, the new ZQA zoning and SNAD zoning to preserve Riverdale's neighborhood character and natural features.

But it is imperative to recognize the historic nature of this application.

Hebrew Home has applied to New York State to be licensed as a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC). CCRCs are included in the city's zoning definition of long-term care facility, and ZQA has now allowed them in R1 and R2 districts via special permit.

Final approval of this application will not only impact the character of Riverdale. It will create an incentive for development in low-density neighborhoods throughout New York City.

Architects from the Preservancy, the Riverdale Community Coalition (RCC) and Hebrew Home developed a compromise plan in the spring of 2015. The community agreed that although the plan was an improvement, it remained too large and too out-of-scale with the neighborhood to support.

When Hebrew Home presented the revised plan to the Community Board Land Use Committee on September 29, 2016, the Preservancy and RCC argued that not only is it too out-of-scale, but that the presentation did not address the special permit findings required by ZQA.

If New York State decides to license this facility as a CCRC, State requirements may require Hebrew Home to change the configuration of its proposal yet again.

The Preservancy and the RCC requested a substantial amount of time at a future Community Board Land Use Committee meeting to give this precedent-setting application the attention it needs.

December 2015 Update

In 2015, much of the Preservancy's attention and resources were focused on an expansion proposed by the Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riverdale, onto its newly-acquired property on Palisade Avenue. The property is zoned R1-1, which normally allows only single-family, detached homes on lots of about one-fifth of an acre in size. The expansion calls for approximately 300 residential units in several mid-rise buildings.

Opposition by the Riverdale Nature Preservancy and the Riverdale Community Coalition (RCC), plus lack of support from Bronx Community Board 8, brought the Hebrew Home to the table in February 2015. Two meetings of architects representing each party resulted in a new plan.

Major changes included moving some of the new development onto the Hebrew Home's original site, and retaining open space and views of the Hudson River on the R1-1 site. A version of that plan was submitted to our community board for reference in May, but no public presentations have been scheduled.

In August, members of the RCC and the Preservancy made it clear to the Hebrew Home and our elected officials that the plan remains too large and too out-of-scale with the context and neighborhood to support.