Southern Boulevard Neighborhood Study

The Southern Boulevard Neighborhood Study brought City agencies and the communities along Southern Boulevard together to plan for future investment, programs, and policies around housing, jobs, businesses, parks, streets, public space, community resources, health, and land uses.

The Study launched in the fall of 2016. These pages provide a snapshot in time of the vision, goals, and objectives from the three-year community planning process.

Why Southern Boulevard?

• The Southern Boulevard Neighborhood Study focused on combatting the housing crisis as this area continues to grow in population, so that existing tenants are protected, housing is safe and healthy, and new opportunities for affordable housing are created.
• The Study focused on ensuring existing residents can best use new infrastructure and amenities, such as Sheridan Boulevard, new Metro-North service at Hunts Point Avenue, Starlight Park expansions, and affordable housing investment.
• 80% of the zoning in the Study area dates to 1961. The Southern Boulevard Neighborhood Study focused on examining the local land use and the zoning that guides it to ensure that the area’s zoning reflects the needs and aspirations of the communities today.
• The South Bronx suffers from some of the worst health inequities in the city and the state. The Study focused on planning with a health lens and addressing health at a community level.
• The planning process built on the 2013 Sheridan Expressway Study. Community goals raised in this study included ensuring that the neighborhoods around the Bronx River would include affordable housing, locally focused retail, recreational space, and public realm improvements. The community recommended further study of the area, including its land use and zoning, to achieve these priorities.

Study Area History and Background

Study Area and History

While much of the dialogue during the planning process emphasized current issues and future goals, it is important to reflect on the history of the study area and key events that shaped what it is today.

Read about the conditions of the Southern Boulevard study area at the time of the study (2016 to 2019) here.

What's Next?

As the Black and Brown communities of the South Bronx have faced heightened health and economic impactsof the COVID-19 pandemic due to underlying and longstanding racial inequities, now more than ever, it is important that the City support these communities to ensure a resilient and equitable future for those who live there today.

• The City will continue to work with communities to support recovery and resiliency.
• The City will continue to reference the community’s vision, goals, and objectives as guides for the future of the Southern Boulevard area.
• If the communities of Southern Boulevard would like to create a neighborhood plan, the summary content on this webpage can serve as a springboard for a plan that reflects updated needs, goals, and priorities with strategies to address them.

Project Spotlights

The City collaborated with the community to advance many of the goals and objectives that arose through the Southern Boulevard planning process. Read about completed and in-progress projects in the Southern Boulevard Project Spotlight.

Contact Us

For more information, contact the DCP Bronx Office at 1-718-220-8500 or SouthernBlvd@planning.nyc.gov.