Traffic Is Not NIMBY

November 14, 2022

I write to address the Nov. 2 “opinion” piece by Alec Roberts on affordable housing in Irvington that pretends to be a neutral Q&A with the developer that withdrew from the proposed project at 76 N. Broadway. The piece, written by somebody who identifies himself as a vociferous advocate for affordable housing, contains an array of unfair insinuations. They merit a response:

1) The gist of the piece is that the development fell through because of sloppy language in the rezoning law. That’s a canard that others in the community have now adopted. It’s not so. Nor is the claim put forth that development at 76 N. Broadway, and the parcel just north of it, will have only a trivial effect on traffic. Just another “10 feet” of traffic added to the armada of buses that populate Broadway every morning on the way to the high school! Just “30 seconds” of extra commute time! If only such magical thinking had any basis.

The now-withdrawn proposal included 98 permanent cars alone. add to that the school buses every morning and afternoon, Amazon trucks and other deliveries throughout the day, visitors, and other suppliers and vendors. Does anybody seriously believe that additional crush of traffic – – most of it leaving in the busy morning and returning in the busy evening – – will add only another “10 feet” or “30 seconds”? Why don’t we have an independent traffic engineer – – not somebody retained by the village – – conduct a study and report back?

Now factor in the parcel just north of 76 N. Broadway. It’s included in the rezoning. It’s twice the size of 76 N. Broadway. It’s completely reasonable to suppose that a residential development there would add not a mere 98 cars in residence, but double that. Now we would have nearly 300 cars every morning and afternoon, plus the other volume. if you believe that the traffic impact will now be “20 feet” or “60 seconds,” we operate in different numerical universes.

2) Just as problematic, the article suggests that those of us who are concerned about a looming and irreversible traffic nightmare that will forever change our village are really saying so because we are NIMBYs. We’re frauds! We must be against any affordable housing, goes the charge. We supposedly only care about “property values.” We must be against diversity. I, and many of my neighbors, resent the offensive and false accusation. I’m against high-density development of any kind in this location, directly fronting N. Broadway and in an already extremely congested area. Whether development is  affordable, or designed for plutocrats, isn’t the point, and those who keep hollering otherwise are either willfully disingenuous or just traffic denialists. Want to know what even a slight change in traffic volume does? Venture out on N. Broadway now in the afternoon – – the closure of East Sunnyside gives us a preview of our future. Bring a book or an hourglass.

3) I’d respect a political position that says “We don’t actually care about traffic! We care only about a single issue – – affordable housing in this one particular location, the consequences to traffic be damned.“ I suspect those having such a view either aren’t paying attention, or perhaps just don’t use N. Broadway in the morning or afternoon. Hey, not our problem! But I don’t hear such honesty. Instead, I’m hearing the demonization of good-faith opponents, concerned about a real and legitimate problem — and who have indeed supported other affordable-housing projects in Irvington. We in this wonderful village should aspire to more rational discourse.

4) I also want to be clear about Wilder Balter Properties, the company that withdrew. In my limited dealings with them, I found their leaders to be transparent and honorable. That was never the issue.

I implore those in the community obsessed with high-density housing at these locations – – no matter the  traffic calamity they may cause – – to await the collection of independent facts, and then reassess what is in the best overall interests of the community.

David A. Kaplan

Irvington, NY