BY JENNY SHARP 

New York politicians have turned their gaze to the west Bronx, unfurling plans to tap into the neighborhoods’ commercial and residential potential. And community stakeholders want in on the process.

Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA) will host a community forum on March 5 at 7 p.m. to encourage public input on a plan that would bring major changes to a large and historic portion of the Bronx.

The Jerome Avenue corridor, formerly referred to the Jerome-Cromwell plan, currently comprises the neighborhoods of Morris Heights, Tremont, University Heights and Fordham.

Although the plan focuses mainly on the areas surrounding the Lower Concourse to the south, the neighborhoods stretch 73 blocks underneath the 4 elevated subway line–including a small portion of Fordham. The aim is to revitalize a rundown neighborhood through the building of commercial developments, parks, schools, and increased resources such as job training. The vision coincides with major re-development of the South Bronx waterfront, which Mayor de Blasio pledged $200 million for the creation of 4,000 units of housing.

CASA, a 24-year, a non-profit organization working to preserve safe and affordable housing within the Bronx, is concerned about the potential implications of the plan and any proposed rezoning. Fears of gentrification and displacement of current residents have sparked several protests and a call for discussion.

“We are holding a community forum to educate folks who live and work in the community, since the Department of City Planning (DCP) has not yet done outreach to folks in the neighborhood,” said Susanna Blankley, CASA’s director of housing organizing, in an email. “Our main principles are: real affordable housing for people who live in the community, good jobs and local hire, strong anti-harassment and anti-displacement policies to protect tenants and workers from displacement.”

DCP is also welcoming public opinion on the plan. On its website, the agency said that a public dialogue “will play a pivotal role in the creation and implementation of the neighborhood study.” It has scheduled its own public forum on March 14 at 7 p.m. at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse. Two other meetings, one presented in Spanish, are slated for the Bronx this month.

The city also has forms of anti-displacement measures, mainly through DCP’s Inclusionary Housing Program, which requires a percentage of all new housing units to be permanently affordable. Zoning amendments have been proposed by the agency to ensure affordable housing is included in its plan.

The CASA forum will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 14 West 170th Street and Jerome Avenue and is open to any resident wishing to better understand the plan and become involved with its process.

CASA’s event aims to promote education, engagement, and action on this issue by providing west Bronx residents with a forum to discuss their needs and fears. “We believe that community members are the experts and should be creating the vision for Jerome Ave” said Blankley.

For more information on the community forum, call 609-879-2782.

Editor’s Note: An earlier draft of this article erroneously tied the Jerome-Cromwell plan with the South Bronx redevelopment project.