![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_9075.jpeg\")
A homeless encampment on the sidewalk next to the vacant Ittner Place lot. Photo: Poppy Wilkinson<\/p>\n
The renovation is one component of the so-called Park-Webster Neighborhood Plan, in which the city will solicit and incorporate community feedback to redesign Park and Webster avenues and their surrounding areas. The council is asking for ideas and feedback<\/a> to guide housing development, street redesigns, transit improvements and improved public spaces.<\/p>\n The map below illustrates the area the plan will cover:<\/p>\n \u201cThe community board is very much looking forward to imagining what the neighborhood could look like and engaging in this process \u2014 which is one of my favorite activities \u2014 of asking Bronx residents what they want to see in their neighborhood,\u201d said Moure-Punnett.<\/p>\n But the renovation won\u2019t come cheap. The city anticipates a price tag of $24.4 million.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s three large sections of land, and they\u2019re very undeveloped. We\u2019ve also got to deal with conflict from the expressway and city permits,\u201d said Council Member Oswald Feliz. \u201cThe cost is just astronomical.\u201d The lot is separated into three distinct sections by columns supporting the expressway, and the city wants to revamp each section.<\/p>\n The high cost is not just an effect of the location, though. Many recent city renovations have drawn unusually high price tags. For one, Feliz mentioned the 2016 Fordham Plaza renovation in the Bronx,<\/a> which expanded pedestrian space and added amenities like seating areas. That cost the city $34 million.<\/p>\n Manhattan\u2019s Grand Army Plaza is another example. Its redesign included new lighting, accessibility measures and repairs to its central fountain \u2014 and cost $21 million.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to find new ways to work on lowering the costs of these projects,\u201d said Feliz.<\/p>\n The $24.4 million will be allocated to the Parks Department, who will work alongside Council Member Feliz to design the park\u2019s amenities. <\/p>\n \u201cIn order to build a totally brand new park, I\u2019d imagine they\u2019re going to have to dig pretty far under the ground and take out the dirt that is laden with lead and arsenic and everything else,\u201d said Sam Biederman, the former chief of staff at the Parks Department. \u201cThat\u2019s easily between five and 10 million dollars right there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf the design has a comfort station, also known as a bathroom, let\u2019s say that costs between 5 and 6 million dollars,\u201d Biederman continued. \u201cThe courts \u2026 cost about a million each. Landscaping will add between $500,000 to a million. With added costs and the time it takes, I can easily see how it would be $24 million.\u201d<\/p>\n Former Mayor Eric Adams announced<\/a> the renovation last year and allocated $8.7 million to create a basketball court and a skate park. The project will now enjoy a tripled budget and a more ambitious build-out. A rep for the Parks Department said the agency is still \u201cidentify the scope\u201d of the now additionally funded project.<\/p>\n At the announcement on Tuesday, officials and attendees had to raise their voices over the deafening noise of overhead traffic and cars passing by on surface streets. The Cross Bronx Expressway, which displaced between 40,000 and 60,000 residents in its 1948 construction, carries an average of 150,000 vehicles per day<\/a>. It\u2019s unclear how the soon-to-be-park, which lies directly underneath the hulking structure, would mitigate the expressway\u2019s noise pollution.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/P-W-map.png\")
The Park-Webster Neighborhood Corridor is situated near major sites like the Bronx Zoo, the New York Botanical Garden, and Fordham University. Map: City Council<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_9082.jpeg\")
The Ittner Place lot, currently filled with cars and debris. Photo: Poppy Wilkinson<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_9077.jpeg\")
One section of the Ittner Place lot is completely vacant. Photo: Poppy Wilkinson<\/p>\n