Fordham University has received a $500,000 state grant toward the construction of a $21 million Regional Parking Facility on Fordham Road. The grant, secured through the efforts of Fordham representatives Assemblywoman Gloria Davis (D) and Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera (D), is an important step toward solving what has become a growing community concern. Since the State’s opening of the new Department of Motor Vehicles bureau and Adjudication Center on Fordham Road across from the University and the Bronx Zoo last fall, there has been increasing concern as to how the traffic generated from the bureau would impact an already exceedingly congested commercial district with limited parking options. Once completed, the Facility is expected to mitigate the impact of traffic generated by the bureau as well as assist in eliminating existing traffic congestion in the Fordham Road commercial district and the Belmont/Arthur Avenue neighborhood.
Additionally, the Facility would support intermodal connections to shuttle bus, commuter rail and subway services, providing a benefit to the region’s commuters. “I would like to thank Assemblywoman Davis and Assemblyman Rivera for the critical role they played in securing this grant,” said Fordham University President, Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J. “This project will go a long way in restoring residential tranquillity while supporting the economic expansion of the commercial district as well as the University’s own growth and accessibility. I look forward to working with them and our many supporters as this project comes to fruition,” said O’Hare. As planned, the Facility would house 1,250 parking spaces, 175 of which will be set aside specifically for the general public, and would be constructed on 4.5 acres of University property (along Fordham Road at the northwest intersection of Crotona Avenue, then running north along Crotona Avenue and Southern/Kazimiroff Boulevard).
The project has already received $5.75 million in federal funds under the Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The University is currently seeking additional state funding to complete the project. “The Regional Parking Facility is the most viable, common sense solution to solving the congestion in the Fordham Road commercial district and the Belmont/Arthur Avenue neighborhoods. This project is an exercise in good government and I am proud of the collaborative relationship between Fordham and the State,” said Assemblywoman Gloria Davis, Bronx Delegation Chair. “The Fordham project is a long-term benefit to the prosperity of the commercial district and the surrounding neighborhoods. Assemblyman Rivera and I are pleased with the continued efforts undertaken by the Assembly leadership and Fordham in moving this project toward construction and ultimate completion.” District representative Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera concurred, “I am very proud to have worked with the Bronx Delegation to assist Fordham University in seeing this project to fruition. Economic development is the backbone to a brighter future for Bronx residents. This project fits along the lines of a stronger, better developed, economically secured Bronx County.”
