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Montefiore scraps plans for Riverdale facility

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Montefiore Medical Center and the Simone Development Companies have cancelled their controversial plans to build a health care facility on Riverdale Avenue.

The move came after more than a year of angry opposition from Riverdalians who said the proposal to build a six-story ambulatory center on a block mostly consisting of mom-and-pop stores would warp the character of the community and create a parking and traffic nightmare.

Kate Rose, Montefiore’s assistant vice president for public policy and government relations, said the hospital will not build a facility elsewhere in Riverdale or the rest of the northwest Bronx. H. Guy Leibler, the president of Simone Healthcare Development, said Simone will construct a 14-story luxury apartment building on the lots at 3733, 3735 and 3741 Riverdale Ave. along with 3644 Oxford Ave. instead of the originally planned health care center.

They announced the change in plans during a meeting with Councilman Andrew Cohen, Rep. Eliot Engel’s chief of staff, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and state Sen. Jeff Klein on March 13.

The local elected officials declared victory for the community.

“I think overall, this is a great victory. My hat’s off to Simone Development and Montefiore. They listened to the community. They listened to the elected officials,” said Mr. Klein.

“Moving elsewhere and not considering a project in Riverdale, I think, is a win-win for the community, and I thank them for that,” he concluded.

Last spring, Mr. Klein and Mr. Dinowitz took the unprecedented step of creating a new state review process for projects like the proposed center on Riverdale Avenue. By the fall, Montefiore had reduced its plans, which originally called for an 11-story facility offering a wide range of services, but community members remained opposed to the project.

“Even a good thing can not be good if there’s too much of it, and there were a lot of problems with the original concept,” said Mr. Dinowitz. “I think Montefiore made a very sincere effort to come back with something much smaller. That did not receive a lot of support in the community, but I think that this outcome is certainly sensible.”

During heavily attended Community Board (CB) 8 meetings throughout last year, Montefiore officials said they wanted to build in Riverdale on grounds the community is “medically underserved.” Asked how Montefiore now views its responsibility if that claim is true, Ms. Rose said the health care provider is considering changes to existing sites, such as adding an office to its small primary care center at 3510 Johnson Ave. She added that the office would cover about 1,500 square feet, but that no date is set for construction.

Throughout last Friday’s meeting, elected officials pointed out Montefiore is one of the biggest employers in the Bronx and Simone is one of the borough’s most active developers. Montefiore has six medical campuses in the Bronx and Westchester. Simone boasts more than 100 commercial properties in its portfolio. The two organizations’ collaborations include an 11-story ambulatory center that Montefiore opened at Simone’s sprawling Hutchinson Metro Center in the east Bronx in November. Montefiore also has a medical campus in Norwood, which is part of Mr. Cohen’s 10th City Council district.

“Montefiore is an enormous stakeholder in my Council district,” he said, “and I think that they were really responsible and responsive to the elected officials and the community.”

Jim Grossman, who organized grassroots opposition to Montefiore’s proposed project here, welcomed news of the change in plans.

“It is certainly good news that Montefiore has abandoned its plans to build a mega-clinic on Riverdale Avenue,” said Mr. Grossman, who helped turn out dozens of Riverdalians at CB 8 meetings. “This was a perfect example of residents speaking up to control what happens in their communities.”

Regarding the luxury apartment building now planned for Riverdale Avenue, Mr. Leibler said it will consist of 24 one-bedroom units and 24 two-bedroom units, with 48 parking spaces in a garage on the bottom two floors. He added that details on a groundbreaking date and the cost of the units were not yet available, though Simone would present the design to the community once architects and engineers complete the plans.

While residents opposed to Montefiore’s previous plans for Riverdale Avenue cited traffic and parking among their main areas of concern, Mr. Leibler said that would not be an issue with the apartment building.

“Forty-eight apartments is far less traffic than a medical office building would have generated, so we think it is not anywhere close given that the typical resident will leave in the morning and go to work or whatever their schedule is for the day and come back later on,” he explained.

Elected officials at the meeting indicated they approve of the new plan, with Mr. Dinowitz pointing out that streets behind the stores on Riverdale Avenue already include two tall buildings — the 14-story apartment building at 3660 Oxford Ave. and the 12-story apartment building at the end of Tulfan Terrace — albeit the latter site drew some opposition from neighbors in the early 2000s.

Asked what he thought of an apartment building in place of a health care facility on Riverdale Avenue, Mr. Grossman said, “We shall remain vigilant to make sure it complies with all city zoning regulations, especially adequate parking.”

Nic Cavell contributed reporting.

Montefiore Medical Center, Simone Development Companies, Andrew Cohen, Jeffrey Dinowitz, Eliot Engel, Jeff Klein, H. Guy Leibler, Kate Rose, Jim Grossman, Shant Shahrigian

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