The proposal to convert the old Sam’s Carpeting on Webster Avenue into an annex for the local 52nd Precinct has been scrapped, with speculation the property will be converted to some type of housing.

The news comes after Councilman Andrew Cohen committed $40 million to repair the 52nd Precinct and have the NYPD possibly lease the former carpet store that lies diagonally across from the precinct to serve as an annex. The three-story precinct currently houses over 200 police officers, and is overcapacity.

At the latest Community Board 7 meeting on Sep. 25, Cohen confirmed that the annex idea will not happen.

In a phone interview with the Norwood News, Cohen shed light on why the owner of the former carpeting store decided to go in another direction. “I recently spoke to the owner about talking to the city. The owner was discouraged by how long it would take. It’s a lengthy project and I think he was under some pressure, because it was vacant, to come up with some development so he said he was no longer interested in pursuing negotiations with the city,” he said.

The two-story building was once a proposed site for a homeless shelter until protests from concerned parents of nearby PS/MS 20 back in 2017 helped terminate those plans.

Hopes of being an annex for the precinct’s Italian Renaissance-style building was on the radar for many, including Bedford Mosholu Community Association’s (BMCA) president, Barbara Stronczer. “The 52nd Precinct is a landmark building, which is extremely overcrowded and has over 200 police men and women there. When I first moved into this neighborhood there were 100, so you know what it must feel like in there when they have a whole shift,” she said at BMCA’s monthly meeting on Oct. 2. Many in attendance were frustrated with the idea of yet another housing unit possibly going up at the site.

Construction for affordable housing along Webster Avenue has become the norm since the city approved a massive rezoning for the artery in 2011. In April 2015, a 122-unit housing property, Bedford Park Manor, located at 2985 Webster Ave. was the first to appear on the avenue as a result of a 2011 rezoning. Just a few buildings away at 3084 Webster Ave. lies an 11-story affordable residence that holds 119 units. Despite its early struggles, the building was completed in October 2018. Both properties were engineered by the Stagg Group.

The annex was also intended to solve the ongoing problem of vehicles illegally parked on Mosholu Parkway near the precinct. Despite the annex not panning out, Cohen confirmed some good news for those who have struggled to park in the area. “I have received over the years a number of complaints about parking in the Five-Two … on the sidewalk near Mosholu Parkway. I made a deal with the Police Department for about $400,000 to redo the parking lot, which will add maybe as many as 30 spots in that parking lot. Hopefully it’ll get the cars along the parkway more space to park,” he said at the Community Board meeting.