WPCNR East Side Story. By John F. Bailey. September 21, 2006 UPDATED 2:00 P.M. E.D.T. INTERVIEWS WITH PAUL WOOD, TIM CONNORS: As first reported in January, 2005 by WPCNR, the New York Presbyterian Hospital Proton Accelerator/Biotech Research laboratory will not be built. At least not for a long time, according to Paul Wood, City Executive Officer. Reports appearing in the media of 131 homes to be built on the property, he said, were inaccurate.

PAUL WOOD. The Mayor's Executive Officer. Mr. Wood is shown last night at City Hall. Photo, WPCNR News

The New York Presbyterian Hospital was reported in another publication, to be considering building housing instead consisting of over 100 homes, with more to come, according to Paul Wood of the Mayor's office yesterday. However, at 12:15 today, Mr. Wood said this information, provided to other media but not to WPCNR,  was "inaccurate." 

Timothy Connors, Superintendent of Schools, said he could not comment on the effect of any possible massive home development until he knew what it was, townhouses, condos, two-family homes. Commenting on how a new burst of housing could affect the district $69.6 Million Capital Improvemehnt project,  "It shows," Connors said, "The School District is on the right track, preparing for the future." 

Wood told WPCNR the city is applying to subdivide the hospital property to create a 5.5 acre park, where one soccer field and one baseball diamond could be built. Wood said he has no idea of what the New York Presbyterian Hospital would use the remainder of the property for, including the Northern side of the property.

 He said the balance of the hospital property would revert back to its original zoning which would consist of 2 houses per acre. In order to "carve out" a small park for the city, the city had to apply for a subdivision, which in exchange, the hospital was willing to allow the balance of the property to revert back to its original zoning which is residential.  Wood said he did not know whether the hospital was thinking of selling the land, developing it, or what they planned to do with it.

Pardes Felt the City Should Have a Park.

Subdivision virtually Delays Proton Accelerator Indefinitely

Asked why the hospital was doing this, Wood told WPCNR the Mayor and Herbert Pardes, CEO of the New York Presbyterian Hospital, have a special relationship, and Mr. Pardes told the Mayor he (Pardes) felt badly the city was not going to get a park out of the proton accelerator project, and for "over a year," Wood said, he and the Mayor worked out the vest-pocket playing fields park announced to media yesterday.

Wood said by subdividing the property for the park, the original approval for the proton-accelerator "becomes moot," and in order for the proton accelerator to be built, the New York Presbyterian Hospital would have to resubmit an entire new application process.

Wood stressed the Common Council has to approve the subdivision, but did acknowledge the Council had been briefed on the park project and, asked if they were behind it, Wood said he did not know.

Potential for Housing Always There.

School District Should Have Known that: Wood.

 The potential for  housing that could be built on the property, had always existed Wood told us, and therefore the school district should have been aware of that potential. (Although previous approval of the proton accelerator-biotech project may have, in all fairness, dimmed the interest in building homes adjacent to the proton accelerator complex.)

Should the subdivision be approved, the potential for a total of 131 houses on a proton-acclerator-less property, could add as few as 131 children and as many as 500 children to the school district enrollments in the next seven years, by rough estimate.

11 Home Tradeoff?

Wood said the city had to articulate the subdivison allowing the New York Presbyterian Hospital the ability to build 11 homes in addition to the on the rest of their property, to make up for the homes lost on the 5.5 acres -- a very building friendly site on the Southwest portion of the property. At roughly two homes per 60 acres, this would give a 120 home potential plus 11 from the park site to make a total of 131.

Wood did not say why the hospital needed an 11-home trade to do the subdivision rather than a straight $6 Million city payment for the park (based on a sales price of $1.2 Million per acre set by the NorthStreet Community purchase of the St.Agnes property), if they were not considering building homes on the property. Other media reported the housing project would include the 11 homes to the 120 homes (2 per acre). Wood calls this inforamtion innaccurate and has no knowledge housing is in the Hospital plans for the future. 

As Reported Previously by WPCNR

The city did not advise the School District that this previously reported park/housing project on behalf of the city, was in the planning stages for the last year, according to Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors. Wood said he saw no reason to tell the School District about it because they should have been aware of the housing potential on the Hospital property, anyway. 

Common Council President Rita Malmud said the Council and she were aware of "certain elements of the plan" in its development that had been explained to her by the Mayor and city staff. WPCNR asked Ms. Malmud if the council (which has often commented the city should work more closely with the school system), had shared the proposal with the school district, said the council, to her knowledge, had not.

Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors told WPCNR this morning the city administration had not let him know that this housing project as originally reported by other media, was being planned, and the project impact on school enrollments was not taken into account in District enrollment projections used to formulate District infrastructure and school expansion as part of the $69.6 Million Capital Project. Mr. Connors is seen promoting passage of the Capital Project Referendum at Post Road School last week. Photo, WPCNR News

 The clarification issued by Mr. Wood to WPCNR of his remarks to media yesterday which were not furnished to WPCNR, does not indicate there would be massive housing on Bryant Avenue.

If the hospital should go for a housing project which now arguably becomes more attractive if the proton accelerator is off the table, it shatters City School District enrollment projections, on which the district $69.6 Million expansion and renovation plan (up for referendum vote on October 17). The number of children any NYPH housing plans geared to families may bring in calls into question whether their $69 Million Capital Project is ambitious enough to expand elementary school capacity to handle future enrollment should the Presbyterian Hospital proceed with this project.

Park Vanishes. According to reports of Mr. Wood's remarks released yesterday to the media, and denied this afternoon as inaccurate by Mr. Wood, it was indicated 131 homes would be built on the green portion of the the hospital property at the lower right location, and on the area of property showing the two proton-accelerator-biotech center buildings -- the turquoise rectangles in lower center portion of this diagram. Steep slopes and streams in the lower left of the property would not be built on, according to Wood. Athletic fields covering 5-1/2 acres, consisting of a soccer field and baseball diamond (instead of the original 60 acres that would have been acquired in 2000, when Mr. Wood said, "the conservationists blew it"). As Marc Pollitzer, the North Street Assocation President, has often noted the hospital can build the housing as of right on the property.

Photo, WPCNR News Archive.

Paul Wood, the Mayor's Executive Officer announced yesterday to media (not the CitizeNetReporter)  that Mayor Joseph Delfino encouraged and worked with the hospital  to develop an alternative development consisting of housing with 5.5 acres turned over to the city for recreation playing fields. The administration last year at this time in the early fall was denying knowledge of any change  the hospital plans for the proton accelerator had changed.

Portion of now-potential Housing Location along Bryant Avenue. Photo, WPCNR News Archive.

Wood originally was reported to have said the hospital proposes building 131 homes  on this north side of Bryant Avenue, as well  as development on the northside of the NYPH property.  He did not indicate what development of the northside would be. Now, Wood is saying the report of 131 homes being considered by the hospital is inaccurate.

WPCNR calls to New York Presbyterian Hospital spokesperson, Geoff Thompson, have placed questions as to what the nature of possible development of the Northside of the property would be like, whether the hospital plans to sell the property to a developer, or retain title, and whether the proton accelerator-biotech facility would be built elsewhere by the New York Presbyterian Hosptial. More detail is expected at this evening's Common Council meeting.

Hospital Plan Change Originally Denied by City.

The first indication the hospital was changing its plans was reported by WPCNR January 28, 2005, when Vito Cappello Director of Development for North America of  Hitachi USA(which builds proton accelerators), told WPCNR the hospital was delaying the project and was not pursuing starting construction on the accelerator in the near future.

WPCNR reported after Mr. Cappello's revelation,  that the New York Presbyterian Hospital was thinking of selling its land due to the increased value of their property indicated by the sale of the St. Agnes property to the North Street Community.  This WPCNR report was rigorously denied by the city.

Yesterday's announcement shows the Mayor was negotiating with the hospital to put together  at least the subdivision for a park plan while his administration was denying the hospital was rethinking its plans.  The park subdivision (with most likely no mention of housing), is expected to be explained this evening at a Common Council work session.

 Last fall the report that the hospital was cooling on the proton acclerator-biotech center it had promoted as a state-of-the-art and had been earmarked to receive $100 Million plus in state aid to build it as a Center for Excellence by Governor George Pataki,would not comment on the reasons for the accelerator delay to WPCNR.

It has also been widely speculated that high rise development on the north side of the property in addition to the housing plan, is a logical extension of the residential high rise luxury housing being built by high profile developers in the White Plains downtown. High rise development on the north side of the hospital property would certainly be seen in some circles as complimenting  the toney Nordstrom's, Bloomingdale's, Nieman-Marcus, Fortunoff corridor on Bloomingdale Road.

School District Capacity Prognostications Go Out the Window

If a housing project is built it would be a massive subdivision consisting of what Wood was originally reported as describing as single family homes and townhouses.   however it shatters the anticipated enrollment projections the City School District is relying on to plan its $69.6 Million elementary school expansion and renovation now being considered. The building of the homes and further residential development on the north side of the hosptial property by Westchester Avenue could mean an influx of from 200 to 400 children or more into the City School System in addition to the present projected number of 280 elementary school children entering the at capacity school district facilities by 2010. This puts City School District enrollment projections into question, and raises the greater question of whether the $69.6 Million Capital Project on the October 17 Referendum is inadequate for the enrollment.

Previously, the City School District has reported that their enrollment figures for the school year 2010 are based on birth rate figures as of 2005, and do not take into account any future large scale family housing development.