The applicant that is seeking approvals to build a 25-unit seven-story apartment building at 158-160 Stanley Avenue in Yonkers is asking for variances from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals so that the project can move forward in the approval process. The entity 160 Stanley Avenue LLC is asking for variances for front yard and side yard setbacks and the number of parking spaces.
The project would use two existing vacant lots that would be developed as one parcel. There would be two levels of parking, one below grade and the other at ground level that would provide 25 parking spaces. Above would be six floors of apartments consisting of 12 one-bedroom units, nine two-bedroom units and four three-bedroom units for a total of 25 apartments. There would be a total of 42 bedrooms in the building.
The Zoning Code requires 39 parking spaces for the 25 units and 42 bedrooms.
The engineering and architecture firm Kimley-Horn conducted a study that evaluated the proposed parking supply and determined the future maximum parking demand expected to be generated with the project. In addition, the projected traffic generated by the project was identified and examined for potential traffic impact on the surrounding roadways.
“The project site is located in a densely developed, mixed use area of the City of Yonkers. Bee Line bus service is provided less than a 0.5 mile walk from the site on Riverdale Avenue, Hawthorne Avenue and South Broadway. In addition, the Ludlow Station of Metro-North’s Hudson line railroad is within a half-mile walk from the project,” Kimley-Horn said.
Using guidelines from the Institute of Transportation Engineer for a mid-rise residential development located in a dense multi-use urban environment, close to rail, Kimley-Horn concluded that the building would have a maximum demand of 18 parked vehicles. It said that the site’s proximity to the Ludlow train station and two bus routes (the Bee-Line 8 and 32), visitors and occupants are likely to opt for public transportation, reducing overall parking demand.
Kimley-Horn also found that the project would not be expected to have a significant traffic impact because it would generate only 6 vehicular trips in both the morning and afternoon peak hours.
A different view was presented in a written comment to the ZBA by a local resident, Philip Armstrong, who stated that a major quality of life issue in Yonkers is the search for parking.
“Here we have another developer who claims that the size of the building they desire to put at this location does not allow them to supply the necessary parking spaces,” Armstrong said. “The area is extremely congested with parking today and even though there is public transportation in the area it is not adequate to carry the existing load never mind the added load these new buildings will place on it.”
