NEW YORK — A grand plan to revitalize Fordham Plaza in the Bronx has fallen far short of the community’s expectations, with vacant kiosks and retail space now creating a barren landscape instead of the promised vibrant gathering space.
The community wants to know why.
“We just want to know what’s going to happen, and we’re demanding for DOT [New York City Department of Transportation] to make the effort to tell us what is the situation,” Lisa Sanchez, a resident and community board member, said. “They didn’t keep their end of the bargain, promising the community to enhance the area.”
The city set out years ago to revamp Fordham Plaza, hoping to convert a traffic-heavy public area into a community gathering space with an investment of $34 million in city, state and federal funds. But the project has stalled, with neighborhood organizers and residents saying the lack of vendors has turned the plaza into a magnet for vandalism and homelessness.
“This plaza was once a center for economic activity in the neighborhood and is now a source of quality-of-life issues for our community,” a letter to DOT from the Community Board reads. “The failure to find permanent vendors in the retail stands for this site for 7 years is an unacceptable waste of $34 million federal, state, and local public dollars.”
The DOT said the COVID pandemic is largely to blame for why the spaces are empty.
The city’s small businesses took a huge hit during the pandemic, with many still struggling to get back on their feet. The city’s unemployment rate, mostly driven by disparities in the hospitality industry, still lag behind other major cities.
The Fordham Plaza area saw a quick rebound in consumer retail spending — up 68% from before the pre-pandemic levels. However, spending at restaurants and bars in the area have fallen by 36% since 2019, and retail theft is a growing concern for local businesses.
“We are aware of procedural complications, exacerbated during the pandemic, that made it difficult for the DOT to obtain vendors to operate in the plaza,” Oswald Feliz, the City Council representative for the area, said. “We are working with them to ensure processes are finalized as soon as possible, so that Fordham Plaza can finally achieve its full potential.”
But people in the neighborhood say the area has, to a large degree, recovered from COVID — surrounding retail spaces have filled back up and consumers have flooded back to the shops. Bronxites are eager to move on and they want to know why the plaza isn’t keeping pace.
“Even now that things have returned back to normal and the city is issuing contracts again, there’s nothing to show for it in Fordham Plaza,” Rafael Moure-Punnett, the district manager for the local community board, said.
The plaza, located on East Fordham Road between Third Avenue and Webster Avenue, is one of the busiest pedestrian districts in the city. More than 80,000 pedestrians came through the area every day before the pandemic. It’s up 4% from 2019, according to the city’s New New York report.
The renovation project was part of the NYC Plaza Program, which aims to create more open space in neighborhoods that lack them by taking streets and transforming them into pedestrian-only space. The Fordham Plaza project rerouted bus routes in the plaza, added more green space, public toilets, seating areas — and a cafe space and kiosks.
After the renovation, DOT partnered with ChaShaMa, an nonprofit arts organization, for an art exhibit until 2021, as well as a farmers market and the Bronx Night Market in warmer months, but there were no permanent programs.
“The reconstructed Fordham Plaza has helped create a vibrant, welcoming community space for tens of thousands of Bronxites,” DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a 2022 news release. “We’re excited to find a concessionaire to complement this great work and serve high-quality products to the students, shoppers and commuters who enjoy this major hub every day.”
A source at DOT said the process to get vendors into the empty spaces is moving forward.
“Fordham Plaza is an important community space for tens of thousands of Bronxites and DOT is committed to finding concessionaires to complement the city’s recent Reconstruction,” Vincent Barone, DOT spokesperson said.
DOT put out a request for proposal for the 24,000 square foot retail space and kiosk in July 2022, and says that process is moving along, but didn’t provide details.
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