The Villa Rosa Bonheur and the Fight to Save It

In 2017, the beloved neighborhood landmark Villa Rosa Bonheur was bought by investors.  Two years later, because of “as-of-right” real estate laws, this architectural gem was reduced to a pile of rubble and carted away.  This presentation outlines the community efforts to try to save her, and when that failed, the co-naming of her location where she once stood as “Villa Rosa Bonheur John J McKelvey Sr. Way” as a way of memorializing her former presence in our community.

Stephanie Coggins arrived in the Bronx a few weeks after her 18^th birthday to attend Fordham University, in 1979.  Now 45 years later, Stephanie is a hard-core Bronxite, having lived in Belmont, Bedford Park, and now Spuyten Duyvil. (including a two-year stint in an apartment over the Fordham Road White Castle parking lot!)  Arriving in Spuyten Duyvil in 2015, she became enraptured with the green space and architecture of this unique neighborhood. Inspired by the tragic loss of Villa Rosa Bonheur, she became involved in community activism related to that loss.  Due to her efforts, in 2022 the intersection of Palisade Avenue and Bradley Terrace step street was legally co-named “Villa Rosa Bonheur – John J. McKelvey Sr Way”,  to memorialize the loss of VRB to development.  Her current activities include administration of two Facebook Groups based on local community issues, and memberships in Plant Native NW Bronx, and the Kingsbridge Historical Society.  Stephanie is the current gardener at Edgehill, adding native and pollinator plants to it raised beds to enhance this historic landmark.