When the BJ's proposal was first submitted very few thought that it could be successfully opposed.  The application, though, was resoundingly defeated 13-0 in the City Council's Land Use Committee on February 10, 2005 and the developer, the Related Companies, eventually withdrew the application.  The project was opposed by small businesses groups that feared BJ's impact on the predominately minority merchants in the area and organized labor due to the company's virulent anti-union policies.  Many in the community were also irked by the possibility for increased traffic and the developer's nonexistent analysis of how the project would impact the area.  The negative vote was seen by many veteran observers of the land use review process as unprecedented, since BJ’s had seen its application approved by the local area community board, the Bronx Borough President and the City Planning Commission before it went down to defeat at the Council.  However, despite this show of support from certain elected and appointed officials, the Land Use Committee voted to reaffirm that developers can't expect their relationships with the City to override their commitments to thorough economic impact assessments.

Click here for articles on the proposed BJ's Warehouse Club on Brush Avenue in the Bronx, the community and small business opposition to it, and the Neighborhood Retail Alliance's efforts that helped thwart the project.

We have listed our press releases dealing with the issues surrounding the successful defeat of BJs on Brush Avenue in the Bronx.  View and print these positions papers here.

The Neighborhood Retail Alliance has crafted a number of memoranda dealing with the all the issues surrounding the defeated BJ's in the Bronx.  View and print these positions papers here.