A routine public session in Pelham Parkway turned into a neighborhood flashpoint this week as residents and Community Board 11 members clashed over a Bowery Residents’ Committee plan to replace the shuttered bank at 626 Pelham Parkway South with a nine-story supportive housing building. Critics argued that packing 106 micro-units into the site, with a large share reserved for people exiting shelters, would change the character of the block, while supporters countered that the project would deliver deeply affordable apartments with on-site services. The fight has already moved from the boardroom to the sidewalk, and organizers are now lining up a City Hall rally next month.
As reported by Bronx Times, the Bowery Residents’ Committee bought the former Apple Bank property and is pitching a nine-story building with 106 units smaller than traditional studios, roughly 270 to 300 square feet each. The nonprofit says about 60% of those apartments would be set aside for people leaving shelters, and that 41 units would be targeted at households earning 30% of area median income, which the city calculates at about $34,020 a year for a single person. BRC told the board the building would include on-site support staff, a courtyard, a community room and a 24/7 staffed front desk, and that it is planning for residents to start moving in by fall 2029.
Site sale, zoning and neighborhood context
Public records show BRC closed on the Pelham Parkway property in February 2025. According to PincusCo, the deal included development rights that allow residential construction on the block without a discretionary land use review. Supporters of the project point to nearby transit and local retail as reasons the site makes sense, and housing advocates note that Council District 13 has produced relatively little deeply affordable housing; the New York Housing Conference tracker found the district added just 369 affordable units between 2014 and 2024.
Neighbors mobilize
Opposition has organized around Friends of Pelham Parkway, led by Roxanne Delgado, who told residents the proposal would be “a waste of taxpayer money” and warned that it would create a “revolving door” of tenants, Bronx Times reports. Neighbors held a demonstration outside the former bank on March 7 and have scheduled an April 10 rally on the steps of City Hall to press elected officials to block public funding for the project. Speakers at the CB11 session also zeroed in on the tiny unit sizes and the lack of full kitchens, arguing that the layout feels closer to single-room occupancy than to permanent housing.
BRC’s record and oversight questions
The Bowery Residents’ Committee is a long-established provider of shelter and supportive services, but its track record has drawn scrutiny before. A 2020 audit by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli criticized outreach work tied to BRC’s contracts with city agencies, finding gaps in monitoring and reporting that opponents repeatedly cited at the public meeting; the audit is available from the Office of the State Comptroller. DiNapoli’s report highlighted failures related to outreach hours and oversight. In response, BRC representatives told the board that earlier issues have been addressed and pointed to high tenancy stability across their existing buildings as evidence that the supportive housing model can work…