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Zoning board clears Iona University to upgrade Bronxville baseball field; residents press for noise and parking protections
Summary
The Bronxville Zoning Board approved multiple area variances for Iona University's proposed upgrades to its Bronxville baseball field (leveled field, dugouts, press box, seating and netting). The approval came amid repeated public concerns about sidewalks, traffic, noise and possible event scale; the board noted those matters will be reviewed by the planning board.
The Bronxville Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a package of area variances requested by Iona University to renovate the baseball facility at its Bronxville campus, while several neighbors and the Concordia Conservatory urged additional safeguards on noise, parking and pedestrian safety.
Annie Klein, counsel to Iona University, summarized the application and said the project would "level the field, upgrade the dugouts, add a bullpen, and upgrade the press box" and provide seating for 135 with six wheelchair-accessible spots. She noted the project is intended to bring the facility closer to NCAA Division I standards and that planning-board environmental review had resulted in a negative declaration on Feb. 11, 2026.
Landscape architect Cynthia Reynolds detailed safety upgrades: an 8-foot padded retaining wall, elevated press box and seating behind home plate, and perimeter safety netting. Reynolds said the revised stormwater design "reduces overall runoff from the property to the Crawford Street system by an average of 70% for 3 storm events." She also described outfield fencing and a batter's-eye windscreen; the design proposes outfield safety netting measured from home plate at roughly 40 feet in most places, rising to 45 feet at a particular corner, and netting posts that in places would exceed the code maximum (applicant cited reasons tied to the site's foreshortened geometry).
Public commenters raised recurring concerns. Sarah Axelbaum, who lives near the field, said the proposed plan "pushes activity toward Rose Avenue" and warned about pedestrian safety because the sidewalk does not currently extend to White Plains Road. Several speakers representing the Concordia Conservatory and neighbors emphasized that amplified sound, crowd noise and scheduled game events could disrupt music instruction; Carolyn Moriarty, a Conservatory board member, and Kathleen Suss, the Conservatory's executive director, urged an independent acoustical study and offered to fund one.
Iona representatives responded that parking and event management would be directed to the Myers Center parking lot, that campus personnel would direct traffic and that gates connecting dugouts to bullpens would be locked and controlled during events. Athletic staff described using ball-tracking data to inform netting heights and advised the board that lighting is not proposed for nighttime games.
Board members said traffic, noise and parking were principally planning-board issues; they evaluated only the area variances before them and concluded the benefits (player safety and corrective improvements for a long-standing on-site athletic facility) outweighed detriments. The board's approval clears the way for the applicant to proceed with required planning-board and site-plan reviews, where neighbors expect to press for enforceable conditions on noise, parking and event scale.
