Developers are proposing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on redeveloping the Bronx Terminal Market. A mall with over one million square feet of retail space, big parking facilities and a hotel are all planned.
The public is kicking in millions of dollars, too, in the form of tax breaks and a de facto grant of public space: the City owns the site. The value of the land has yet to be publicly announced. But it's definitely worth a lot located, as it is, along the Harlem River with good public transit access.
Community Board 4 has looked over the plans and approved them with six conditions. The board's first condition was for developers to commit to a "community benefits agreement" that would, among other things, ensure that qualified local residents get first dibs at jobs.
Developers have said they are committed to a community benefits agreement. But for months they have balked at putting anything in writing. The time to set out those commitments in writing is now.
A community benefits agreement is a clear way for local residents to see exactly how these projects will make Highbridge a better place to live. There are very real fears attached to the redevelopment plan: Rents would skyrocket as the area is improved, for one thing. Residents are also rightly concerned that the new mall developers envision on the Bronx Terminal Market site will offer only low-wage jobs without benefits and that air quality will suffer as traffic to the area increases.
The sooner developers clarify how the project will help rather than hurt the local community the better. Developers have said they thought talking to community board members about an agreement would be premature. They expect that discussion to occur with the Bronx Borough President's Office.
But nothing in the land use review process stops them talking to the community board about an agreement and the community board is closer to local residents than the borough president's office. By waiting, they are sending a negative message to residents: Your voices do not count. |
