83rd District Accomplishments

Affordable Housing

Under Speaker Heastie’s leadership more than $1.5 million has been secured for improvements at Mitchell-Lama housing developments within the 83rd Assembly District. This includes renovations at Lindville Housing where they will be upgrading safety measures with new fireproof doors as well as improving the quality of living for its residents by installing new trash compactors and radiators. Renovations will soon be underway at Bronxwood Towers to upgrade the plumbing, parking deck, railings, doors, and the current inadequate ventilation system. Grounds restoration will take place at Tilden Towers I to address landscaping and beautification, fencing for safety, sidewalks, pavers, and the children’s playground. Facility enhancements will also take place at Tilden Towers II, including the replacement of the children’s pool.

Trees & Sidewalks Program

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Mayor de Blasio came together to address a citywide issue – tree roots destroying sidewalks and homeowners being held liable.  The new program unveiled in early September 2019 focuses on the continuously growing backlog of sidewalks that have been damaged by trees that were planted by the city. Moving forward, New York City will be responsible for the repairs of sidewalks that have been found damaged by city trees. The City’s Trees & Sidewalks program will address approximately 5,500 priority sites over the next three years.

The new trees and sidewalk program will be applicable to one, two, and three family homes that show sidewalk damage created by city trees. The program will also work with the NYC Department of Parks and Department of Transportation to discontinue the issuance of liens on homes found to have sidewalk damage caused by trees. 

These changes will lift a great financial burden off of homeowners, allowing them to focus on their investment – a safe home for their families to thrive.

Northeast Bronx YMCA

Over the years the lack of access to a recreational center in the Northeast Bronx has been a detriment to the community.  An all-encompassing community facility will promote togetherness, host educational programming, as well as provide adequate wellness instruction for all. Inactivity of school-aged children has become more prevalent across the city as many public school facilities do not have the capacity to provide efficient physical education instruction and classes.  Speaker Heastie, along other local elected officials and community advocates, have pursued the idea of building a facility that would fill this void, and after years of fighting, this dream will be a reality.  In Fall 2020 there will be a YMCA in the Northeast Bronx.

The North East Bronx YMCA will be located at 1250 East 229th Street in the Edenwald section of the Bronx. Construction is well underway on the 50,000 square foot community center that will include two swimming pools, a full-length basketball court, a fitness center, and an indoor track. This state-of-the-art facility will provide recreational and social services for our kids, families, and seniors. Programming such as civic classes for new Americans and health education like the YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program will be available, as well as a child care center that will include programming after school and during the summer.

This new $60 million YMCA facility will create 100 permanent jobs and over 100 temporary jobs.