Bronx Councilman Joel Rivera, who moonlights as a Bronx real estate agent, looks at the vacant old Fordham Library on Bainbridge Avenue and sees a valuable commodity that could be used in two vastly different ways.

“It’s very attractive,” he said, when asked about the commercial or residential potential of the historic building, for which the city is now openly soliciting redevelopment proposals. “Given its proximity to the third largest shopping district in the city on Fordham Road and major transit stations. There are colleges and the New York Botanical Garden nearby. On the private side, that would be huge.”

But Rivera, who is leaving office at the end of the year, says the city would be shortsighted if it turned it over to a commercial developer. Instead, like many other community advocates, Rivera wants to see some type of community center set up shop in the 90-year-old building.

“I’d like to see another Mary Mitchell Center,” Rivera said, referring to the multi-service community in Crotona that provides programming for a wide range of residents, from youth to seniors. “I think that would have the best long-term impact, especially here [in Fordham-Bedford] where there aren’t a lot of other options.”

On July 9, the city released a request for proposals for the old library, which has sat mostly vacant since it was shut down in 2005.

Since its closure, which coincided with the opening of the Bronx Library Center two blocks away, local advocates have called for the 25,000-square-foot building to be turned into some kind of community center that caters to youth and seniors, something the immediate area lacks.

The request for proposals, or RFP, released by the city’s Economic Development Corporation, is generally very broad in scope, but does call for developers to “reactive the Site through potential neighborhood-serving purposes.” Among the “Development Goals” in the RFP, it says the project should be “an asset to the community” and “ensure the uses are designed to serve the community.”

Those goals, however, don’t rule out some kind of commercial development, although zoning regulations currently wouldn’t allow for heavy commercial use, such as a home maintenance or repair shop. The RFP also calls for the new project to be “financially feasible” and have a “reliable revenue stream.”

Because the building, which was built in 1923 at 2556 Bainbridge Ave., was designated as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, any changes to the building would have to be approved by the state’s historical preservation office.

In 2008, the city turned the old library over to the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, which was then mandated to turn the building into a full-service animal shelter. That mandate was dropped in 2011 by the City Council. The agency has been using the facility for administrative and storage purposes, according to the RFP.

Before the Health Department took over, 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 — the building is in the 15th District) — staged multiple rallies urging the city to turn the building over for community purposes.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. echoed Rivera after the RFP was released, telling the Daily News he wanted to see some kind of science and technology center or a recreational hub at the former library.

Diaz played a heavy role in securing the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory, which is near the old library and is slated to become the world’s largest ice sports complex. That project will be run by as a for-profit business, but it will also include more 50,000 square feet of community space.

Rivera said a private-public partnership might be an option, but said 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,” Rivera said. “But in the long term, with a community center, you can develop a whole generation of young people.”

Editor’s Note: The deadline to submit proposals for the old Fordham Library is Sept. 12. For more information, visit nycedc.com.

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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.