Sustainable Communities
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Network Case Studies
Bronx, New York
Contact: Yolanda Garcia, Chair
Jane Kershaw
We Stay - Nos Quedamos
811 Courtland Avenue
Bronx, NY 10451
Tel: (718) 292-7686
Fax: (718) 993-7777
Scope: Local, urban
Project type: Urban restoration
Urban Renewal in Melrose Commons
"Be part of this committee and help save our community. Make changes
for your own future, do not let your children down. Plan for your future
and their future."
In August, 1990, a draft of plans for revitalizing a 30 block area in the
South Bronx of New York City was issued by the New York Departments of City
Planning and Housing, Preservation and Development. On paper, these plans
appeared fine - proposing the creation of 2,600 new units of housing, 250,000
square feet of new commercial space, the creation of a centrally located
4 acre park, and a realignment of the street system.
In reality, however, this community - home to approximately 6,000 people,
primarily of African American and Latino descent, with a median family income
of less than $12,000 a year - couldn't have been less suited to the proposed
plan. The crux of the problem lay in the fact that the people of the community
were never consulted in the nine years that the city's municipal departments
devised this plan. The people of the neighborhood knew that a plan was being
developed and that it would lead to a certain amount of displacement (the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement identified 78 homeowners, 400 tenants
and 80 businesses with 550 employees that would be displaced). They also
feared that large tracts of land would be bulldozed to make room for new
housing which most of the current residents would never be able to afford.
A comprehensive view of the plans, however, was never shared with neighborhood
residents, and people had to rely upon rumors as their only source of information.
Gradually, people in the community began to gather together to discuss the
pending developments in their neighborhood. The Bronx Center project, a
local community group, held a public meeting in which homeowners, tenants
and businesses united in their anger over the lack of consultation on changes
that would affect all aspects of their lives. They felt betrayed by the
elected officials and the city's agencies. The neighborhood residents decided
one crucial thing - they were not going to allow the city to roll over them,
and they were going to become an active part of the development in their
area.
From this vision came the formation of Nos Quedamos - meaning "we stay"
- a committee of the Bronx Center project made up of neighborhood citizens
dedicated to organizing and planning for Melrose Commons. When the draft
of the city's plan was finally presented to the community, the residents
of the South Bronx had numerous objections. The people's concerns included:
the affordability of the proposed developments; the in- opportunity for
existing businesses to expand; the inclusion of services (health care, senior
citizens, youth, libraries) not present in the community; the inappropriateness
of the designated open space; the realignment of the street pattern that
did not account for the way the streets were actually used; the quality
of the proposed construction and the appropriateness of the building materials;
and the future of the community for further expansion of municipal services.
With the initial assistance of the Bronx Center project, Nos Quedamos quickly
became a diverse, inclusive group of community residents as well as municipal
representatives. At the request of the Bronx Borough President, the community
was allotted time to formulate an alternate development plan. Furthermore,
the Departments of City Planning and Housing, Preservation and Development
agreed to abandon the existing plan and to sit down with the community on
a weekly basis to develop a new plan that was truly representative of the
people's needs and concerns. The Departments of Transportation and Environmental
Protection, the Borough President's Office and the Mayor's Office agreed
to attend the weekly meetings. With only six months time that the community
allotted to accomplish the planning work, Nos Quedamos had their work cut
out for them.
A combination of working sessions and community meetings allowed residents
to dialogue and express their opinions on the neighborhood planning. "Outsiders"
to the neighborhood were also often given walking tours of the area to obtain
a better perspective of the issues at play. The Bronx Center community organization
assisted greatly with technical and design aspects of the revitalization
plan.
The goals that emerged from these participatory working sessions were broad
and directly applicable to the unique Melrose Commons neighborhood:
A number of key principals also emerged from these working sessions, some
of which were: to cause no involuntary displacement of people; to create
open space that responds to the community's concerns of program and security;
to respect the street patterns and movement systems within the community;
to turn Melrose Avenue into a "Main Street" in the community;
to permit a mixed income community to develop; to develop a variety of housing
options; and to encourage opportunities for residents and businesses to
increase their earning potential and expand their economic activities. Essentially,
people strove to promote development that would be sustainable, would complement
the existing infrastructure and the regional location, and would provide
for future growth and evolution. Ultimately, the people wanted to design
strategies to buy people into the neighborhood rather than
out of it.
Due to this collaborative planning process, Melrose Commons now has a comprehensive
mixed-use, mixed-income community plan that will help sustain the neighborhood
as it is implemented, and, once fully in place, will be self-sustaining.
The basis of the new development plan values people's "sense of place"
in Melrose Commons. As little displacement as possible was the goal of the
revitalization project, and in cases where displacement had to occur for
the plan to go forward, relocation within the community was paramount. According
to this plan, residents get credit for time spent in the neighborhood and
their homes are valued resources rather than expendable buildings.
Today, the urban renewal plan includes: 2000 diverse housing units that
are designed to preserve the historical richness of the community and provide
affordable options for the people; multi-use open space that is visible
from the sidewalk and linked to existing schools or community garden; "greening"
of industrial areas with recreational space development; business development
that will employ community members enterprises such as an after school center,
health care services and recycling projects. Furthermore, emphasis has been
placed on developing a town center for education and cultural uses of the
community including the return to community use of a former YWCA building.
Though the physical and economic foundation of Melrose Commons has been
greatly strengthened, the most important effect of the revitalization project
has been the restoration of people's sense of community and civic responsibility.
Through its work, Nos Quedamos established and has maintained a unique collaboration
between institutions of higher education such as Columbia University, Pratt
Institute, and Hunter College; city and private sector planners; architects;
businesses; and local, national and international nonprofit and nongovernmental
organizations. This sustained and diverse collaboration has produced an
unprecedented amount of information sharing and resource exchange, benefitting
all involved.
As the plans for the neighborhood continue to be enacted, the residents
of Melrose Commons will ensure that their voices are heard by their community
representatives as well as their elected public officials.
Special thanks to Yolanda Garcia, Jane Kershaw, and Magnusson Architects
for their assistance in clarifying and compiling the details of the Melrose
Commons revitalization project.
Case Study Source: American Forum for Global Education. 1995
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Revised September 18, 1996 - Contents Copyright ©1996, Sustainable Communities Network Partnership