A non-profit housing developer is open to reducing the size of planned projects on long-contested lots on East 202nd and East 203rd streets after pushback from Community Board 7, according to a revised proposal draft obtained by the Norwood News.

The new proposal would shorten the building on East 202nd Street from 11 stories to 9 stories, shrinking the number of units from 164 to 139. In the original proposal, the East 203rd Street building was planned to be 8 stories with 164 units. It is unclear if the revised proposal will reduce the size of the 8-story building, but the units will be cut to 138 to relieve some of the expected burden on community infrastructure in Bedford Park.

“There’s not that many resources for everyone around here,” remarked Jesus Moran, a 20-year resident of Bedford Park. “You have to build more business, whether it’s grocery stores or pharmacies and all that.”

The reassessment by CAMBA, the Brooklyn-based non-profit developer, stems from a raucous November CB7 Land Use Meeting of the project that drew ire from residents who’ve had enough of the ongoing development projects in Bedford Park. The building projects represent a kind of last straw by the board, given the sheer size of the projects on incredibly narrow streets initially meant for smaller homes.

“I think that when projects get erected in certain communities, we need to know the impact, considering this neighborhood, particularly, has had a lot of buildings go up,” CB7 District Manager Ischia Bravo, a Bedford Park resident, told the Norwood News. “What are we doing in the city of New York? We’re just building buildings and we’re not thinking about education and our kids because these buildings are ultimately bringing in families and we want to make sure our CB7 residents or residents of the city of New York are receiving the proper resources.”

Bravo said she believes that any development accepting city funding should go through a process similar to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), the approval process developers must go through when applying to use or alter city-owned land. ULURP requires many layers of community and government approval, as stakeholders determine how a new structure and influx of residents will impact the community. Oftentimes, a ULURP application can take six months without any interruptions.

“I think you should be forced to do an environmental study at the beginning of that project especially when you’re requesting money,” Bravo said.

CAMBA is a non-profit that runs economic and legal assistance programs, mainly for homeless individuals and refugees. Their housing development arm was established in 2005, with the goal of providing affordable housing for low income, disabled or homeless New York City residents.

The Bedford Park locations would be CAMBA’s first housing development in the Bronx and, according to the city’s Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) agency, the project has not yet applied for city financing. In the past, CAMBA construction projects in Brooklyn have used funding from the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office, HPD’s Supportive Housing Loan Program, City Council “Reso A” capital funds, and other state and federal housing programs. Once in operation, CAMBA buildings work in concert with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the New York City Department of Homeless Services.

“When these monies are given to some of these developers they need to take into consideration what does a project of this size mean for the community,” Bravo said. “What impact will it have on the schools, the local businesses and any other local resources that right now might be scarce for the community as it is?”

Bravo pointed to existing strain on schools and businesses in Community Board 7 as a reason for a scaling back of this project. School District 10, which encompasses Norwood, Bedford Park and most of the Northwest Bronx, is the most overcrowded district in the borough.

Bedford Park has been at the center of a development furor over the last decade, but some projects are more welcome than others. Just around the corner from the CAMBA site, a 68-unit apartment building at 3188 Villa Ave. received a conditional letter of support from CB7 before its groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 7. That project is being handled by the DOE Fund, a non-profit that provides services and opportunities similar to those offered by CAMBA.

The site of the proposed CAMBA buildings is owned by Peter Fine, a notorious Bronx developer who consistently clashes with the communities he works in. The now-bulldozed lots once included 267 E. 202nd St., a two-story building whose tenants went to war with Fine over evictions and mistreatment. In December of 2016, the building burned down in an accidental fire, according to FDNY.

Fine’s construction company, Bolivar Builders, LLC, is listed as the “General Contractor” in CAMBA’s initial proposal.

According to CAMBA’s revised presentation, the non-profit will reduce tenant recreation space to add parking spaces and a double-width driveway that will allow “vehicles to enter on 202nd Street and exit onto 203rd Street.” One of CB7’s major concerns was the flow of traffic on the narrow streets the buildings are being built on.

Anna Hernandez, a resident at 253 E. 203rd St., one of the buildings adjacent to the proposed site, said that finding parking on the block can sometimes take hours already. “The parking is going to be limited,” Hernandez said. “My boyfriend comes on the weekend and he has to leave because of the frustration of not finding parking.”

Bravo said she believes CAMBA is doing good work, but insisted the continued development of Bedford Park is a threat to the limited resources the community has to offer. “We need more affordable housing, we need permanent housing and there’s a big need and we understand that,” Bravo said. “At the same time, we don’t need to do it at the expense of other residents in that particular community.”