Mar. 19, 2014:  With an agreement in place between the Village of Bronxville and Fareri Associates to develop the Kensington Road parcel, the 179-space parking facility currently located on the parcel will soon be demolished. Merchants, residents, and commuters now using the parking facility will be displaced when construction begins. 

As a consequence, Peggy Conway, Bronxville deputy treasurer, has been working diligently to identify alternative parking spots. "Our first priority is to provide temporary parking for those who hold permits for reserved spaces and permits for 24-hour spaces in the Lower Kensington parking lot," she stated.

Although parking in the Kensington Road/Sagamore Road area will present difficulties during the 24-to-27-month estimated construction period, Conway said the goal is to keep parking close to residents' homes.

Conway said that the village had been working with New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and New York State Senator George Latimer to pass temporary legislation to allow permitted parking on village streets.

New York State law does not allow municipalities to limit parking on public streets to residents only, Conway explained, but has given permission elsewhere to do so on a temporary or emergency basis. "This measure would be temporary, only for the duration of the project, and would have an expiration date," she said. "It would be only to relieve our dire parking needs during construction."

Conway noted that, when the village entered an agreement with WCI in 2008 for the Kensington Road project, Paulin and Latimer sponsored legislation for temporary permitted street parking that was passed in the assembly and senate.

Upon completion of the 54-unit condominium project, the village will own 200 of the 300 parking spaces in the garage underneath the condominium, resulting in a net gain of 21 metered and permitted merchant parking spaces.

Conway stated that the village will hold an open meeting when the construction contract is finalized and signed by the Village of Bronxville and Fareri Associates, at which time the contractor will explain the project. Residents, merchants, and all who are interested can view a scale model of the Kensington Road project set up in village hall.

"We are confident the project will be a wonderful addition to the Bronxville landscape," Conway said. "We assure you we will be forthcoming with details as timely as is humanly possible."

Pictured here:  Cars packed together while parked. 

Photo by N. Bower