New Yorker City Mall

[Malcolm Lozada]

FourthStreet today is slowly reawakening from a long sleep, but half a century ago, the community saw its once vibrant street threatened by suburban sprawl and the rise of the shopping mall. At the time, urban theorists supposed making the city more like the suburbs would draw people Downtown.

Once lines with many theaters and department stores, Fourth Street was where teenagers gathered to cruise on Friday evenings and where mothers would drop kids off at the theater and head down to shop. With the opening of Mall St. Matthews and Showcase Cinemas on Bardstown Road in the 1960s, the shopping and theaters on Fourth Street slowly dwindled.

While stores continued to close on Fourth Street, the Galleria, a suburban-style shopping mall was inserted into the mall between Liberty Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard in 1983. An extensive Velocity / Metromix article says the Galleria cost a whopping $144 million (adjusted to $308 million in modern dollars) and was meant to provide a suburban experience in the core of Downtown.

The River City Mall underwent a multi-million dollar renovation funded by TARC in the late 1980s that allowed trolley-buses to traverse the stretch. The transitway was designed by Barton Aschman Associates. It was finally abandoned in 1996 and Fourth Street was opened up to traffic except for one block containing the Galleria.

What are your memories of the River City Mall, before and after? Do you recognize any businesses or long-gone buildings in the area? Tell your stories of the tumultuous evolution of Fourth Street in the comments.

Rather, I think you're arguing that you need a /mixed use neighborhood/ to have a working ped mall. Some people need to automatically populate the street without any special effort (e.g. driving, parking).

Iowa City's pedestrian mall works because of the 30,000 largely residential students at the university of IOWA next door. Another reason is that the locals and business leaders have embraced the concept, giving the area a dense consumer base. I went to a wedding near the convention center/Marriot hotel which was in the heart of the pedestrian mall. The playgrounds in the middle of the street were a nice touch. The amount of anti-downtown bias throughout Jefferson county/Louisville metro is seriously detrimental to the long term economic health of the entire Louisville metro area. The next mayor needs to make progress on this issue.

Fourth Street, the River City Mall, Fourth Street Mall, Fourth Avenue Mall, Fourth Avenue, and finally, again, Fourth Street, are derserving of a book rather than a blog entry, but you've done a really great job for the introduction. Like Barhorst, I don't know where to begin. I was a not-yet-old-enough-to-drive teenager in the RCM's early years. Late at night we'd ride our bikes along the abandoned blocks with some boarded up buildings. I knew 4th Street as a kid from going to Stewarts Books and Durlauf's Music with my grandmother, and going to Stewarts Department Store and Frisch's for the Christmas Parade. Ten years later I stood with preservationists in front of the Will Sales Building (as well as the old Savoy Theater down at 2nd) as the wrecking ball needed more than the usual power to destroy that building at 4th and Liberty. Gosh, I could go on and on. I'll see what others write.

Co-op City is a New York State Mitchell-Lama housing cooperative with 15,372 residential units in 35 high-rise buildings and seven (7) townhouse clusters that consist of garden and duplex apartments. It is the largest single residential development in the United States with a population of approximately 50,000 residents. There are three shopping centers on Co-op City property, three community centers, eight parking garages, professional offices and an education park with elementary through high school on the grounds. The development is located across from one of the largest shopping centers in New York City, Mall at Bay Plaza. It is accessible by public transportation to all points of the city, including an express bus to Manhattan. A Metro-North railroad station is also planned for Co-op City pending completion of the Penn Station Access Project.

Throughout the development, there are tot-lot play areas, bike and walking paths, outdoor exercise equipment, basketball and tennis courts, a little league field, and even a community garden. There are also several houses of worship of different faiths. Eight parking garages centrally located in each of the five sections of the development offer more than 10,000 parking spaces for vehicle owners and transient parking.

Each of the three community centers (Dreiser, Bartow and Einstein) also offer rooms for rent for meetings, parties and other family events. There is also a wide array of stores in each shopping center, including grocery and convenience stores, restaurants, dry cleaners, medical offices and a U.S. Postal office.

In addition to local shopping centers, there are additional retail, dining and entertainment options at one of the largest shopping malls in New York City, the Mall at Bay Plaza, located right across from Co-op City. Public transportation makes travel to Manhattan for work or entertainment a relatively quick trip. Easy access to the New England Thruway (I-95) and Hutchinson River Parkway facilitate travel to New Jersey, Westchester, Connecticut and Long Island

Co-op City apartments are airy and spacious, with A/C, modern fixtures and flooring. The community operates three shopping centers, three community centers with meeting rooms and auditoriums and eight parking garages. On the grounds, there are also childcare centers, playgrounds, a public library and even an outdoor stage as well as a fire house; a former, but now vacant, cinema; and the only education park in New York City.

Co-op City shareholders are represented by a fifteen-member volunteer Board of Directors comprised of shareholders. The board provides guidance and oversight to the property managers, and ensures Co-op City is operated in a manner consistent with professional management practices. The board encourages shareholder involvement in governance of the community by joining board committees chaired by directors which allows for exchange of ideas and input among shareholders, directors and management personnel who attend committee meetings.

Mission Statement: The mission of the Board of Directors of the Riverbay Corporation is to preserve affordable housing while maintaining an environment that provides and sustains a high quality of life standard for all cooperators.

The Board of Directors will apply special focus on fostering an environment of cooperative living that supports a sense of community and that encourages shareholder participation in the overall governance of the residency.

Riverbay Corporation contracted with Douglas Elliman Property Management (www.ellimanpm.com) in July 2016 to manage Co-op City. The Douglas Elliman onsite team, headed by Executive General Manager Marvin L. Walton since April 2023 and Assistant General Manager Cary Smith III, continue to build on the accomplishments of the previous executive management team headed by former Executive General Manager Bob Klehammer. Focus continues in the following areas:

Interested in a commercial lease in Co-op City? The Riverbay Parking, Commercial Leasing and Storage department is located at 2049 Bartow Avenue, rm. 23, Bronx, NY 10475. For information or an appointment, you may contact the office at (718) 320-3300, press option 6.

Please note that submitting an application does not guarantee an applicant an interview. Riverbay Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are considered for all positions without regard to race, creed, ethnicity, alienage, citizenship, color, religion, national origin, age, sex or sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military status, disability or any other recognized protected basis under any applicable federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Please inform Human Resources if you need assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process.

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