CB 8 fights Selfhelp on its parking plans

Community Board (CB) 8 is trying to hit the brakes on a Broadway development’s parking plans.

At a Dec. 9 meeting, the board passed a resolution opposing developer Selfhelp’s plans for lift parking at its 6469 Broadway site, citing concerns about noise and the commercial rather than residential appearance of a lift. 

“The community and the community board feel it’s simply inappropriate for a residential neighborhood like north Riverdale,” said Paul Ellis, chairman of CB 8’s Housing Committee. 

Zoning regulations require Selfhelp to provide 19 parking spots for its planned 11-story, $26.4-million building providing affordable housing to seniors.

Thirteen of the spots are slated as lift parking spots, with up to three cars stacked on top of one another. The proposal has riled board members who are also concerned about the height of the building itself. At an October meeting, Selfhelp Vice President Evelyn Wolff maintained the group’s funding plans would not allow it to alter  plans for the size of the building.

In the latest resolution, the board called on the Department of Buildings (DOB) to halt Selfhelp’s parking plans until it agrees to provide a 24/7 parking attendant for the lift, in the event it is actually built.

Selfhelp previously said it would only provide an attendant from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., hours that Mr. Ellis said would deter people from using the lift for parking at all. 

“Today’s senior population is active, they’re engaged, and there are likely going to be many people who live there who want to be able to leave in the morning before 7 or come back after 11:30,” he said. 

Selfhelp previously dropped its plans to house a mentally ill population at the site, after coming under fire from CB 8 members and residents.

Matthew Gross, the director of development at Lettire Construction Corp., which is building the structure, said that the project would adhere to all DOB rules and regulations.