Nicole Boncik and Daiyana Rodriguez live just half a mile away from each other. Yet both educators say they have the same problem: new developments planned next to their homes on Bethlehem’s West Side.
“Neighbors are terrified,” Rodriguez said. “Every time somebody sees a ‘for sale’ sign, people have to be terrified because any developer can build a building next to anybody’s houses.”
Two separate developers have submitted plans for multiunit buildings where single-family homes now stand. The developers say the projects will bring economic vitality to the area, but neighbors like Boncik and Rodriguez say the plans threaten their green space and quality of life.
“None of [the neighbors] are happy about it,” Boncik said. “It’s going to be a total disruption. Our quality of life is going to be disrupted.”
Neighbors concerned developments threaten properties, trees
Boncik and her husband J.J. live next door to a one-story ranch home at 241 Eighth Ave. The property owner, D. Martin Zawarski, has submitted plans to build a six-unit apartment building with 12 parking spots there.
Rodriguez lives on Rauch Street in Bethlehem, off Spring Street. Another property owner, Ishtiaq Ali Saaem, purchased the property at 312 Hanover St., directly adjacent to Rodriguez’s house, and submitted plans to build a three-unit townhouse there.
Boncik, Rodriguez and other neighbors said they worry about how the developments would impact the character of the neighborhood, and that they put green spaces — including a willow tree on the Boncik property and an 81-year-old tree near Rodriguez’s home — at risk.
“It will permanently alter the residential charm and overall character of our walkable friendly neighborhood,” Kirsten Mondillo, who lives adjacent to the Eighth Avenue property, said at a July 10 planning commission meeting. “A three-story dwelling will alter our landscape, take away more green space and will create an eyesore in our quiet West End. There is no unique hardship that justifies ignoring zoning rules.”
The Morning Call reached out to Zawarski and Saeem’s attorneys, neither of whom could be reached for comment in time for publication.
Rodriguez agrees that Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley need more housing — but thinks they should prioritize affordable housing.Her property is directly across from the Armory, a 70-unit luxury apartment complex with one bedroom units starting at $1,839 for 783 square feet.
“We don’t need more luxurious housing, because a lot of these properties when they rent it out, they increase the rent for everybody else in the area,” she said. “A lot of the people who are now homeless, they once had an apartment. It’s not like there are a lack of units. The units are there, but it becomes so expensive for the people already living here.”
“I feel like they destroy everything, following a similar trend to the South Side, but now there is nothing else to build,” she said. “And because our area is becoming more diverse, racially and income diverse, it feels like they’re targeting our area. Every week there is something new because they know people don’t have the financial resources to keep fighting.”
A loss of green space?
The Bonciks enjoy the shade from their willow tree that hangs above their above-ground pool. On a clear night, they can see the Bethlehem Star from their patio.“It’s a nice, quiet place, and it’s really great,” said Grace Daja, who previously lived next to the Bonciks, two doors down from the proposed apartment. “You can go, you can play anywhere and everybody kind of knows each other, and there are never cars that come down the alley.”
With a three-story apartment building, Boncik is certain those opportunities will go away.
Mary Ann Haller bought the property for $80,000 in June 2001, according to Lehigh County property records.
Haller died around two years ago, Boncik said. A friend lived at the home for a time, but for months the house stood vacant. In September, the family saw “for sale” signs in the yard.
“It was like a revolving door, family after family came and actually looked at the house,” Bocnik said.
Abda Properties bought the property for $250,000 in November.
At first, Boncik and her neighbors didn’t see much going on. They noted that in mid-May, someone came around to cut the grass that had overgrown on the property.
Neighbors said they were surprised to find out the scope of the new owner’s plans for the property.
“We only found out about the first planning meeting a couple of days before, so we had to do a quick organization,” J.J. Boncik said.
Not only are they worried about the willow tree in their backyard, but a plethora of other issues, as well. The street behind their home, Carter Street, is a thin, sloped alleyway that neighbors said was not stable enough to withstand construction vehicles, garbage disposal pickups or snowplows in the winter.
The apartment plans call for a retaining wall right outside the Bonciks’ basement stairs on the south side of their home. Nicole Boncik is worried that in case of an emergency, she wouldn’t be able to have safe access between her yard and the wall.
Both properties are up for Bethlehem zoning board review on Wednesday. Both are in high-density residential zoning areas, but neighbors said the plans — especially for Eighth Avenue — are too large.
“We have a lot of half doubles, something like that would make sense,” Nicole Boncik said. “It wouldn’t be as many people, whether they were rented or not. That’s just two family units as opposed to six apartments. It doesn’t fit the landscape of the neighborhood.”
Rodriguez said she had hoped that the Hanover Avenue property owner would stay and move into the home himself. But with more development, she thinks the incentive is to make more profit.
“Are they even thinking about the holistic impact of all of these random developers everywhere, because they keep building but they don’t improve water management, or garbage disposal or infrastructure,” Rodriguez said. “There’ll be no more trees, no more green areas. There is not a way to really protect the population that’s there.”
