Thanks to US Senators from New York, Schumer and Gillibrand, and Congressman Serrano, The Bronx River Greenway will receive $10 million from the US Department of Transportation to complete the missing links in our borough and create a contiguous connection from Hunts Point straight through the Kensico Reservoir in Westchester County along the river’s 23 mile course.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, along with the aforementioned elected officials, announced today that the $10 million will be matched by the city and various other agencies to complete two pedestrian and bicycle bridges, 3/4 of a mile of a pathway to connect Concrete and Starlight Parks, “…and complete 1.8 miles of contiguous off-street trail from Bruckner Boulevard and E. 177th Street, providing easy access to the full Bronx River Greenway system.”
Once all of this is complete, the 8 Mile stretch of The Bronx River Greenway in our borough will be connected creating safe, pedestrian, and bicycling links across numerous Bronx neighborhoods and straight up into Westchester County for a beautiful and picturesque journey along the 23 miles of our magnificent river.
For decades, the Bronx River was an environmental eyesore but in recent years it has seen a resurgence of wildlife including the first beavers in NYC in over 200 years and a recent installation of a fish ladder to allow several species of fish the ability to return to their spawning grounds.
At the mouth of the Bronx River approximately 100,000 oysters were dumped to create a reef for the ire oysters as the waters have become friendlier, once again, to life.
These oysters actually help speed up the cleaning of the waters of our river.
In the press release issued today, Congressman Serrano said, “As a longtime champion of efforts to green the South Bronx and restore the Bronx River, I am thrilled to see this project take another important step. These two pedestrian/bicycle bridges and a nearly a mile-long pedestrian trail will close an gap in the Bronx River Greenway and will help connect thousands of South Bronx residents to the Bronx River Greenway. With these new bridges and trails, local residents will have a more direct access to the beautiful green open spaces of the Bronx, as well as other recreational areas and facilities, educational resources, and employment centers –helping Bronxites enjoy a better quality of life. It will also help spur local economic development by helping attract visitors and tourists to the Bronx. I thank the U.S. Department of Transportation for heeding our call to fund this important project and for allocating such a generous amount of financial resources in TIGER grants,”. (Read the full press release here.)
Thanks to The Bronx River Alliance and NYC Parks for submitting this successful proposal in getting us the necessary funding to complete a decades long dream!
