Board 8 grills Stagg over Cannon Place plans

Residents living around a proposed development in Kingsbridge Heights shared views ranging from skepticism to outright opposition to the project at a Community Board (CB) 8 Land Use Committee meeting on Monday night. 

The Stagg Group, a Bronx-based developer, recently purchased the lot at 3469 Cannon Place, with plans to build a 122-unit apartment complex at the site. They did not specify the height.

Neighbors believe that in addition to environmental dangers, the complex, which would be built next to a retaining wall lining the street — which is currently under construction itself — will alter the character of the neighborhood. 

“These streets are too narrow for this kind of building,” said Kristin Hart, president of the Fort Independence Park Neighborhood Association (FIPNA). 

Though the Stagg Group does not yet have a building design, Jay Martino, the group’s vice president of construction, explained the building’s entrance would be on Cannon Place, with parking entrances on both Cannon Place and Fort Independence Street. The entrance on Fort Independence would be set back to allow for a recreation area. 

Legacy of opposition

Previous attempts to develop the site were less than fruitful, Ms. Hart reminded the committee. 

In 2011, a developer commissioned a report that revealed any construction at the site would require blasting to splinter the rock underneath, which could damage the foundation as well as neighboring buildings.

Other residents cited traffic concerns in the area, a neighborhood of small homes built along winding, already congested streets. 

“This is a neighborhood. This isn’t Manhattan,” said resident Joelle Lynch, who expressed concerns for the safety of her four children. “Bringing in 120 apartments is going to diminish that.”

Resident Karen Argenti, meanwhile, called for a moratorium on all construction within CB 8’s boundaries until the Department of Environmental Preservation takes a look at the area’s drainage issues.