Zoning Laws Allows For Unwanted Facilities In The Neighborhood
EVER since Mike and Delfina Franco moved into their prim white brick house in Pelham Gardens in the northeast Bronx 15 years ago, they had enjoyed the expanse of lush shrubbery and evergreens in the backyard of a neighboring property. For Mr. Franco, the pastoral scene on Astor Avenue offered an unexpected hint of country living in an otherwise densely developed borough.
So his suspicions were aroused last fall when the trees were chopped down and the shrubbery cleared. Soon, he heard that the half-acre property had been sold and that the new owner planned to replace the existing single-family house with a free-standing structure containing four doctors’ suites. A demolition permit for the project was issued last month.
“It’s ridiculous,” Mr. Franco, a retired bus maintenance worker, said of the idea. “I would rather have a couple houses put up instead of a medical facility, with people walking in and out and all the traffic and fumes.”
Building doctors’ offices amid houses is not unique to Pelham Gardens or the Bronx. For decades, the city’s zoning law has allowed medical offices, schools, nursing homes and other community facilities in residential neighborhoods, sometimes to the dismay of local residents who worry about increased noise and traffic.
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