As you may recall, St Mary’s Park in the Mott Haven and Melrose neighborhoods was…
Parks
When work began at Ferry Point Golf Course in Throggs Neck, homes were priced at…
Back in 2009 when Mill Pond Park opened along the Harlem River in the Lower Concourse area, the 11.3-acre site was promised to be a 15-acre waterfront park once it expanded using the empty parcel between the 145th Street Bridge and the finished park itself.
Time went by and many folks forgot about the expansion but we didn’t and neither did other folks in the area seeking park equity in the South Bronx for you see, The Bronx may be the greenest borough but the South Bronx actually has some of the worst access to green spaces in New York City.
Now, last Wednesday, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the same entity that has been shoving FreshDirect down against our will and taking away of more public land, has issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to potentially develop up to 920,000 square foot mixed-use project. The RFEI indicates that up to two towers can be built on the site, one 40 stories, and another 26 stories.
Now that the Randall’s Island Connector opened last fall, getting to the island’s 330 acres and waterfront access just became even easier for Bronxites.
This past Saturday, thanks to New York Restoration Project’s ‘The Haven Project’ for a greener, and more pedestrian friendly Mott Haven and Port Morris, a free shuttle service launched to get folks over to the island.
Although Robert Moses created Orchard Beach by destroying LeRoy’s Bay in Pelham Bay Park by filling in 1/3 of the bay with landfill and sand from Sandy Hook in Jersey to create the actual beach, he nevertheless created a gem we love and call The Bronx Riviera.
Now, after decades of neglect, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr announced during his State of The Bronx today that his office is committing $10 million for the restoration of the landmarked Orchard Beach Pavilion, an Art Deco masterpiece.
In 2014, New York City sprayed Monsanto’s Roundup pesticide—now classified as a possible carcinogen by The World Health Organization—2,748 times (more than double the 2013 rate) but only 2,000 locations have been revealed through data released by NYC Parks as a result of a Freedom of Information Law request.
From The South Bronx, to Riverdale and City Island to Pelham Parkway, many neighborhoods were sprayed with this pesticide linked to cancer. Manhattan has the least amount of sites (partly due to incomplete data from Central Park and other conservancies) but Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island have been doused with this pesticide more than our borough.
Although The Bronx is on the mainland, as a peninsula, we are surrounded by water yet access to our waterfront is limited especially in the West Bronx.
Now a group is pushing for greater access to the Hudson River in Riverdale by expanding a small 600 foot park by 2 miles all the way north to the Westchester County border at the City of Yonkers.
The DreamYard Project is nurturing Bronx youth through the arts in hopes of changing the world, some of the works of the late Tony Award-winning Bronxite Boris Aronson who began his career in Yiddish theatre, and the greenest borough’s best hiking spots, all in this evening’s Bronx PM Links.
The Bronx may be the greenest borough, with almost 25% of its land dedicated to parks, but residents in The South Bronx do not have equitable access to green spaces. Now that The Randall’s Island Connector—after 2 decades of wrangling with city agencies and community advocacy groups—area residents and the rest of the borough have access to an additional 330 acres of parkland.
The $6 million connector, which only stretches for a quarter mile under the Amtrak line from 132nd Street to Bronx Kill, is now paved with bike and pedestrian lanes so that Bronxites can enjoy the wide open spaces which Randall’s Island provides along with the many playing fields.
Thanks to US Senators from New York, Schumer and Gillibrand, 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.
This Sunday from Noon to 4PM is your LAST CHANCE to Boogie on The Boulevard in 2015 for this 3 Sunday summer event which closes off the center lanes of The Grand Concourse between 161st and 167th Street—a full 7 city block stretch—transforming this area into a huge an approximately 4.75 acre recreational space filled with fitness and health activities, art, dancing, bike riding, skating, performing arts and so much more!
This Sunday will also have a special treat for everyone: Morris Perk will be stationed inside The Bronx Museum serving their popular Bronx Blend coffee, limeade, and delicious pastelitos (aka pastelillos aka empanadas) made locally right here in The Bronx supporting other Bronx women owned businesses! (The last two times Morris Perk served all of this deliciousness, they sold out so make sure to get there early before they are all sold out!
For two years now, Bronx resident Victor Maldonado of Melrose and his fellow residents have been organizing to create a community garden on 159th Street between St Ann’s and Eagle Avenues.
Currently known as Hill Street Community Garden, “The lot has been sitting there as an eyesore for years now, ” said Maldonado who is now petitioning NYC Department of Transportation, Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo, and State Senator Ruben Diaz to push for this dream to become a reality.
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