Yonkers Developer Shrinks Spruce Street Project by a Third Amid Parking Fight

A Bronx-based developer has slashed its plans for a Nodine Hill apartment building nearly in half, swapping a 12-story, 90-unit tower for an eight-story, 60-unit project at 69 Spruce St. in Yonkers. The site sits opposite Cerrato Lane on roughly 0.85 acres, and the revised design was expected to go before the Yonkers Planning Board this week.

AVL Homes LLC, the company behind the project, cut its planned apartment count by one-third, according to Westfair Communications. The original plan exceeded zoning restrictions, and the company was expected to present the scaled-back version to the Yonkers Planning Board at its Nov. 12 meeting. The parcel currently holds a two-story multifamily building and an associated garage, both of which would be demolished to make way for the new construction.

The property sits in a mixed-density residential neighborhood, with Fleming Park located behind it. Its eastern boundary abuts a large apartment building, while several multifamily homes and buildings line the western edge, the outlet's report notes.

What the Revised Building Would Include Under the new plan, the apartment mix would include 21 one-bedroom units, 21 two-bedroom units and 18 three-bedroom units. The building would also house a laundry room, a mail and package room, and a tenant office, per the same report.

Parking would be split between nine spaces at grade level and 89 spaces spread across the basement, lobby, first and second levels. Attorney Stephen Veneruso, of Yonkers-based Veneruso, Curto, Schwartz & Curto LLP, said the development would provide improved aesthetics and needed housing with access to schools, parks and public transportation, the report states. Engineering work on the project has been handled by Shahin Badaly of Mount Vernon-based Badaly Engineering.

County Planners Push Back on Parking and Driveway Design Even with the smaller footprint, the project drew pointed criticism from Westchester County Planning Board Chairman Bernard Thombs, who sent a letter to the Yonkers Department of Planning and Development raising several concerns. Thombs recommended that the applicant and city work to reduce parking requirements to cut down on pavement and limit disturbance to the sloped site, the station's report notes.

Thombs also flagged the driveway's orientation and scale, warning that its expansiveness would increase impervious surface and require a 10-foot retaining wall. He additionally objected to the proposed pedestrian route, which he said consists of a painted crosswalk running through the middle of the driveway and behind a parking lot aisle — a layout he suggested puts walkers too close to moving vehicles.

Bicycle Storage and E-Bike Fire Risk Raised The Westchester County Planning Board also raised concerns about a lack of bicycle storage and e-bike recharging facilities in the current design. Thombs recommended a centralized, sprinklered storage facility with appropriate charging outlets, along with a separate bicycle parking area for visitors.

He warned that batteries lacking UL certification pose a fire risk, particularly when tenants charge them using extension cords rather than dedicated outlets. Thombs also pointed to the growth of online delivery as a reason higher-density developments need to better accommodate delivery workers who rely on bicycles.

How the Design Has Evolved The Spruce Street proposal has shrunk considerably since an earlier design surfaced. An October 2025 report from New York YIMBY described a 12-story building planned to yield 90 units, with 140 parking spaces that fell short of the 156 required by zoning at the time. That earlier version listed a very different unit breakdown — 19 one-bedroom, 35 two-bedroom and 36 three-bedroom apartments — compared with the 21, 21 and 18 split now on the table.

Yonkers' municipal code lays out specific rules governing off-street parking for projects like this one. Under the code, as cited by eCode360, a certificate of occupancy cannot be issued unless required parking and loading spaces have been established.

Yonkers Developer Shrinks Spruce Street Project by a Third Amid Parking Fight

Comments