Whoever moves in to the space formerly occupied by the United States Postal Service will most likely want traffic in the area reconfigured for easier access.
However, residents and business nearby don’t want to wait for a new tenant. They say traffic, especially on Brush Avenue, is already a mess and want it corrected immediately.
The building at 815 Hutchinson River Parkway was vacated by the Postal Service last September. In February, a company listed as Lafayette Owner, LLC purchased the property.
The owner reportedly has the same address as national retail giant Target’s Minneapolis, Minnesota Headquarters, fueling speculation that a Target store at the location is imminent.
On Wednesday, May 4, the Community Board 10 Economic Development Committee discussed its reaction to a Target store. CB 10 district manager Ken Kearns mentioned union jobs, and job training as priorities. However, the board and many present kept coming back to the subject of traffic flow.
Kearns said at the meeting that it was his understanding the property’s developer, Simone Development, has retained a private traffic consultant to study the area. Simone has not publicly commented on the purchase.
Business owners and home owners who attended the CB 10 meeting agreed that traffic in the area, specifically on Brush Avenue near the Cross Bronx Expressway and Bruckner Interchange, is unacceptable. Since no timetable has been releasd in regards to developing 815 Hutchinson River Parkway, nobody knows how long they could be waiting for relief.
“There’s a lot of traffic there,” said Anthony Cucinello, of 4V Construction on Brush Avenue. “It’s congested. We need some resolution. Even if Target isn’t there, it’s a disaster right now.”
Danny Ilich owns a property on Brush Avenue that he leased to an ambulance company, but the company found congestion on the street so bad that its vehicles had a hard time getting out of the base for calls.
He said unsynchronized traffic lights and a nearby yellow bus company that clogged up the street with its buses, were problems to traffic movement.
Lance Berk of Consolidated Bus Transit Corporation, which did not have a representative at the CB 10 meeting, agreed that the area’s infrastructure needs fixing.
“It’s very problematic over there.” he said. “The light down at the end of the road is a problem and anybody that’s going to go on the Bruckner has to get off at Lafayette. All that traffic gets put over here and it doesn’t need to be here.”
Berk also denied that his firm’s buses caused major congestion.
“They’re just parked on the side for maybe an hour. Do I run then up and down for repairs? No. There’s too much traffic on Brush to be running the buses up and down,” he said.
Kearns said CB 10 was waiting on an official proposal from area businesses about what should be done with the traffic infrastructure on Brush Avenue.
Everyone with an interest in the area agrees that they can’t wait any longer.
