Press Release: "Committee To Save Bronxville's Westside" and Lawrence Hospital Prepare for Pivotal Planning Board Meeting

(Editor's Note: The information below was released by the "Committee To Save Bronxville's Westside" ahead of Tuesday's Bronxville Planning Board Special Meeting dedicated to the . In anticipation for the meeting, Lawrence Hospital officials released in the last couple of days a letter to Bronxville community members, which has been attached as document to this article. The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be held at Village Hall.)

Who We Are and What We Stand For:

The Committee To Save Bronxville's Westside is comprised of residents from the Alger Court - Stoneleigh Plaza co-operatives, the townhomes on Lake Avenue, and from Parkway Road area residents who oppose Lawrence Hospital Center's (LHC) major building expansion as currently proposed in its application to the Bronxville Village Planning Board and to the New York State Department of Health. All of these residences are on the westside of Bronxsville adjacent to (across the street from) or in close proximity to the hospital.

The Committee is not opposed to LHC enhancing its cancer treatment services or upgrading its facilities. Many of us have used the services of the hospital. The Committee is, however, opposed to a 42,000 square foot, 3-story expansion, which, if approved by the Village, will be constructed just 4 feet from the sidewalk on Pondfield Road West. The expansion will be built with a foundation allowing the construction of an additional to build 3 more stories. The expansion will be built on the last remaining open space in Pondfield Road West neighborhood -- the new structure will be built on 3/4 of an acre on the hospital's 3 1/2 acre property. In order to do all of this, the hospital will require at least 7 or 8 variances from the Bronxville zoning code. Some of the variances are substantial. If these variances are granted, precedent will be established for other equally large buildings to be constructed -- all in a 1-square mile, quaint Village that prides itself on aesthetics, preserving open space, and ensuring public safety.

The Committee believes that approving such a major expansion is contrary to the spirit and intent of the Bronxville planning and zoning codes, and especially the Village Comprehensive Plan. The Village codes and the Comprehensive Plan emphasize: encouraging excellence in building, creating a desirable visual environment; ensuring the appearance of structures are harmonious and consistent with the character and quality of the Village as a whole; preserving open space; promoting improvements in landscaping; protecting the public welfare and safety, particularly vehicular and pedestrian safety; and other issues such as freedom from noise in one's home, protecting property values, and ensuring adequate parking in a Village where parking space is already at a premium. The LHC proposal advances none of the goals set forth in the Comprehensive Plan. 

The mission of the Committee to Save Bronxville's Westside is to protect and preserve for our neighborhood precisely what the Village has promoted for decades -- creating a desirable visual environment; preserving open space; promoting landscaping throughout the Village; protecting public safety -- especially pedestrian safety; minimizing noise; ensuring adequate parking; and protecting property values. We believe the hospital's proposal will, instead, diminish the quality of our lives and our property values. Thus, it has retained Carter, Ledyard and Milburn, LLC, a New York City based law firm that specializes in land use, zoning and environmental matters, to help us protect our rights.

The Committee has representation from all the buildings that comprise the Alger Court - Stoneleigh Plaza co-operatives, as well as from residents of Lake Avenue and the Parkway Road area -- all across the street from or in close proximity to LHC. The Committee's President is Fran Schramm. Ms. Schramm has lived in Bronxville for more than 40 years and is the current President, Board of Directors, of the Stoneleigh Apartments, having served in that capacity previously. She has been employed by Pan American Airways, Inc., Lord & Taylor and in the investment business. The Committee's Executive Vice President is Jane Strachan who has lived in Bronxville for the past 14 years. Ms. Strachan is an attorney specializing in commercial transactions, information technology, outsourcing and data privacy for the financial services industry. The Committee to Save Bronxville's Westside can be contacted at (914) 207-4286.

Press Release: After five Bronxville Village Planning Board meetings (March-July) where Lawrence Hospital Center representatives made lengthy presentations to the Board on the proposed 3-story expansion on the residential side of the hospital, area neighbors decided to formalize their Westside committee, elect officers, and hire a law firm to represent them and their concerns.

SAVE BRONXVILLE’S WESTSIDE! includes representatives from all the buildings in Stoneleigh Plaza/Alger Court/Lake Avenue, as well as homeowners on Parkway Road. More than 200 residents have signed a petition submitted to the Bronxville Planning Board, asking for a downsizing or alternative site location of the project. More than 20 merchants have also signed a petition with concerns about the impact a lengthy construction process will have on traffic and parking and, thus, their businesses. Elected officers of Save Bronxville’s Westside! Are: Fran Schramm, President, Stoneleigh; Executive Vice President, Jane Strachan, Westbourne; Treasurer, Jay Applebaum, Westbourne; Press Committee Chair, Jim Fay, Northgate. Maureen Curran is liaison for Parkway Road residents.

SAVE BRONXVILLE’S WESTSIDE! has retained Steve Kass and Chris Rizzo of the Wall St. law firm, Carter, Ledyard, and Milburn, well known attorneys in environmental and land use law. This is a result of the Westside neighbors’ lack of success to date in having their concerns addressed in any meaningful way by the Village. LHC representatives have been adamant in public meetings and in their marketing and press materials that they are pushing forward with the project’s footprint and scale. While LHC representatives have on occasion suggested that they might be willing to “work with the neighbors,” there has been no sign that they are willing to discuss compromises on the major issues that would impact the neighbors.

Recently, there have been rumors about a possible minor change, eliminating a narrow one-story corridor at the entrance of the existing hospital. This would serve only to obfuscate the core concerns of the neighbors and would not represent a compromise or change the scope, scale, or restore green space.

Core concerns:

Size: The over-scale proposal is for a 3--story addition on a ¾ acre footprint replacing the last remaining green space on the LHC campus and destroying approximately 30 mature trees on the NE corner of the hospital’s property. The new wing would be built out to the sidewalks on the front traffic circle and on W. Pondfield Road about 15 yards from its nearest neighbors´ property line. The structure would be reinforced for future building up to the sixth floor. A new six-story elevator bank is part of the project. The massiveness and location of the structure would require the Village to virtually rewrite the zoning code for this project. After aggressively marketing the project to the public and press as only a Cancer Center, more recently LHC representatives have admitted publicly that the actual project is much larger in scope and scale. 

Permanent Noise: There is already noise coming from the hospital that can be heard inside the homes of residents in at least three co-operatives across the street from the hospital. In addition, the HVAC/Mechanicals of the new wing would be at the third floor level facing the second floor windows of neighboring’ buildings, where noise will also travel to the upper floors of a number of co-operative. LHC consultants, straining all credulity, have told the public that their equipment will be so “attenuated” that the neighbors will hear no new noise. Independent engineers have given the Westside committee a sharply different appraisal. – that there will be additional noise and it will be loud.

Traffic and Pedestrian Safety: Seven roads, the only direct Westside connectors to the main Bronxville business district and three major arteries in and out of the Village, feed into the busy Westside traffic circle directly in front of the hospital. These arteries include entrances and exits to the Bronx River Parkway. There are 12 already dangerous crosswalks in the compact area in front of the hospital where construction will be staged. All Grand Central bound pedestrian and vehicular traffic to the crowded Bronxville Metro North station is funneled into this small area. Despite the neighbors’ pleas, LHC has had nothing to say about the problems their project will cause during the 2-½ year construction phase (NYS Dept of Health estimate filed by LHC). Nor has there been any public discussion about the permanent dangers created by the project which will come right up to the road at critical crosswalks. Critical sightlines used by vehicles navigating the traffic circle will be eliminated by the addition, causing extreme danger to drivers and especially pedestrians.

Parking: Parking is one of the biggest problems of the Westside, home to many businesses, the Metro North train station, Stoneleigh/Alger Court, the hospital, the Avalon apartments, and the co-ops and homes on Parkway Road. Lawrence Hospital itself has a significant parking problem. The hospital’s parking garage is built contiguous to the Bronx River parkland flood plain so the footprint cannot be expanded. Already LHC must lease Paxton Road parking lot space for staff. These two lots, however, are often flooded. Overflow visitors use the metered parking in front of Palmer Road businesses or spaces designated for residential owners which is private property. Save Bronxville’s Westside! believes that LHC has underestimated the additional parking demand the new wing will create. There is no Plan B for parking. Westsiders anticipate that “the neighborhood” private parking and metered spaces for merchants will be Plan B. 

Construction: The footprint, scope, and adjacency to the Westside’s streets, traffic circle, and sidewalks mean that the construction site for the proposed LHC expansion would be like a commercial construction site. A large building crane, heavy excavation equipment, earth removal by large trucks over Village streets, street closures, Sunday permits, power line relocations, water and sewer line modifications, large amounts of dust, are obvious concerns. Who will be in charge of safety for the citizens of the Village? Where is the budget for extra police and traffic control? LHC has not addressed the huge disruption they would cause – except to say “it will be minimal.” Who will pay for the additional services that will be sorely needed? The already overburdened taxpayers? No one, not even the Village, has addressed the additional costs to the Village.