A controversial rezoning proved to be a central issue in a heated City Council race in the East Bronx, where Democratic incumbent Marjorie Velázquez trailed her Republican challenger Kristy Marmorato by more than 700 votes on Wednesday.
The plan allows for 350 new apartments to be built along a stretch of Bruckner Boulevard, 99 of which would have rents capped for low- to middle-income New Yorkers.
After trashing the proposal for months, Velázquez changed her tune last October and backed the rezoning before it was approved by the City Council.
The approval faced furious opposition from locals. While some invoked racist tropes and equated “affordable housing” with a rise in crime, others said they simply did not want taller buildings in their community.
Throgs Neck resident Michael Lopiano shared that sentiment on Wednesday.
“It’s safe over here and people want a safe area,” said Lopiano, 52. “I wasn’t in favor of that housing at all. It has always been a commercial area over here… You don’t know what type of people they’re going to be.”
Marmorato, who’s the sister of Bronx Republican chair Michael Rendino, campaigned on the issue — and called Velázquez’s about-face “heartbreaking,” according to the Bronx Times. She declared victory on Wednesday, though the election is not final until the district’s write-in and absentee ballots are counted.
If Marmorato maintains her lead, she’ll become the only Republican councilmember from the Bronx. And her victory would come in a district that overlaps with the one held by left-wing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Representatives for both Velázquez and Marmorato did not respond to requests for comment.
Roxanne Delgado, founder of the civic association Friends of Pelham Parkway, said Velázquez’s reversal on the rezoning hurt her chances of keeping her seat in the Council.
“It wasn’t that she supported it, it was the way she handled it,” Delgado said.
Throgs Neck resident Dennise…
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