The City’s department of administrative services (DCAS) has proposed to Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) to convert the second floor of the currently vacant Old Fordham Library, located at 2556 Bainbridge Avenue in Fordham Manor, into a new computer-based testing and application center (CTAC), to facilitate more opportunities for a wider number of local candidates to apply for City jobs.

At the latest Bronx CB7 housing and land use committee meeting, on Feb. 9, the agency proposed relocating the Bronx’s current CTAC, located at 1932 Arthur Avenue in Crotona, to the Fordham Library location, and judging from the discussion that ensued, the committee appeared to broadly support the project outline, at this stage.

In all five boroughs, CTACs are community-based centers used for the purpose of taking civil service exams. “Our centers are the start of the pathway to employment with the City,” said Barbara Dannenberg, DCAS’s deputy commissioner for human capital, during the committee meeting. “It’s a place where folks come in and chat with our knowledgeable staff and learn what jobs the City has to offer.” She added, “I think we have every job in the City of New York except for astronaut.”

Moving the Arthur Avenue CTAC to the Fordham Library location is expected to double the annual number of applicants served by the center in the Bronx. The Arthur Avenue location, which comprises 5,100 sq. ft of surface area, currently accommodates 40 workstations, facilitating 1,900 test-takers per month.

The 10,000 sq. ft, second-floor Fordham Library space would double the capacity of workstations to 80, increasing the number of monthly available test slots to 3,800. “The new center is a wonderful location for folks to come and visit for the purpose of taking civil service examinations,” said Dannenberg. “It’s near the B, D and 4 trains, the Metro North and many bus routes.”

If approved, construction on the building, which has sat mostly vacant since it was shut down in 2005, could begin at the new center in 2024 and would be completed by 2026. It was noted that the two-story, 24,000 sq. ft. Fordham Library would require building-wide electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) upgrades.

Because the building, which was built in 1923, was designated eligible under the National Register of Historic Places, any changes to it would have to be approved by the State’s historical preservation office. Norwood News asked DCAS if the approval had been obtained, and we were informed that such approvals would be received prior to construction.

When asked by committee member, Sandra Erickson, why the project wouldn’t start until 2024, Carmine Rivetti, chief of staff for DCAS, explained, “We have to go through the whole ULURP, Uniform Land Use Procedure process, and that will take 12 to 18 months. From there, you have to go through the design process, and the construction documents. We’re talking about the full scope of work from start to finish.” The ULURP process is due to commence in either early spring of 2021 or late winter.

According to DCAS, the first floor and mezzanine level of the library is slated to provide services that will benefit the Bronx community, although, currently, there are no plans or proposals as to what these services will entail.

In this context, committee member, Barbara Stronczer, asked, “Who will decide what goes in there, and will you listen to community input as to what goes there?” She added, “We’ve been talking about the site for many years. We always spoke about some type of a youth center. I’m wondering who’s going to make the final decision?”

The Norwood News previously reported that in July 2013, the City released a request for redevelopment proposals for the library. Its closure at the time coincided with the opening of the Bronx Library Center, two blocks away, and local advocates had called for the building to be turned into some kind of community center to cater to youth and seniors, something the immediate area lacked.

The prevailing request for proposal (RFP) called for developers to reactivate the site through potential, “neighborhood-serving purposes.” The RFP also called for the project to be “financially feasible” and to have a “reliable revenue stream.”

In 2008, the City turned the old library over to the City’s health department, which was mandated to turn it into a full-service animal shelter. That mandate was dropped in 2011 by the City Council, and the agency had been using the facility for administrative and storage purposes, according to the RFP.

The Norwood News asked DCAS to clarify when the management of the building had been moved from the health department to DCAS, and we were informed this happened in December 2013.

Before the health department took over the running of the building, two different groups – Sistas and Brothas United, the youth arm of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, and New Life International Church, led by pastor and current 14th District Councilman Fernando Cabrera – staged multiple rallies urging the City to turn the building, which is in District 15, over for community use.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. told the NY Daily News, in 2009, he wanted to see some kind of science and technology center or a recreational hub at the former library.

Meanwhile, then-Bronx Councilman Joel Rivera, representing the 15^th District, and son of Assemblyman José Rivera, said at the time, a private-public partnership might have been an option, but added that the City would best be served in the long-term by using the old library for developing young people and providing programming to keep them off the streets.

“In a private development, you might get 50 jobs out of it in the short term,” he said at the time. “But in the long term, with a community center, you can develop a whole generation of young people.”

At the CB7 meeting, Rivetti said DCAS was open to suggestions from the community regarding the building’s usage. “We’ve engaged with the borough president’s office, and there’s a council race coming up [District 15 special election on March 23]. So, we look forward to having that discussion with the new council member as well,” he said.

“If there’s a community center that people want to explore, we’re open to all possibilities. We’ll have this discussion with all the stakeholders as we go through the ULURP process.”

Other suggestions from the community for the first-floor space include a job training center. Committee member, Edgar Ramos, said, “Since you can take civil service tests on the second floor, that might be a good co-use for the building.”

Regarding the project’s next steps, Nick Benson, DCAS director of communications, emailed the Norwood News, writing, “The ULURP process will include several public hearings, including one with the CB7. Once we have ULURP approval, we would start the design work.”

No formal request for approval or non-objection to the project was asked of the committee by DCAS, and the presentation was really more of a heads up of what is being planned. As the agency advances with the ULURP process, it plans to engage with all affected stakeholders which includes, we understand, coming back to CB7 for a nod of approval, at a later stage, regarding the project’s progression.

Other items discussed at the meeting included an update on the New York Botanical Garden’s (NYBG) plan for two new housing developments at East Bedford Park Boulevard and Webster Avenue, part of a 2011 re-zoning plan to revitalize 88 blocks of Webster Avenue. As reported by Norwood News, residents are concerned about the project’s overall impact on local amenities like schools and parking. NYBG is slated to present its plans to the CB7 community at next month’s housing meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, Mar. 9, at 6:30 pm.

*David Cruz, José A. Giralt & Síle Moloney contributed to this story.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.