NYC Taking Away Parkland in The Bronx Will Allow It To Happen Across the Five Boroughs

Make no mistake: New York City’s attempt to take away land dedicated and mapped as parkland in The Bronx that was slated for Mill Pond Park expansion on Pier 5 will set a precedent that will make it only easier for NYC and New York City Economic Development Corporation to take away parkland anywhere in the city.

That’s why we MUST take a stand regardless of where you live because this is something that will impact our city of over 8.5 million residents and our precious green spaces.

If this were Manhattan, we wouldn’t be having this discussion because parkland would not be taken away but because we are The Bronx and more specifically the South Bronx in a community of color in the poorest congressional district without access to monies for expensive attorneys, NYCEDC and the City think they can just do whatever they want with OUR PUBLIC LAND.

This is not private land, this is public land that New York City DEDICATED as parkland and since Welcome2TheBronx caught them with their pants down last year when they announced their intentions to turn over the land for “affordable” housing that’s not affordable for our community, they began a campaign of DELETING any mention of Pier 5 as part of their expansion.

But unlucky for them, we kept a record of everything.

NYC Parks includes the extension’s 4.7 acres in the total 15 acres of the park. As it stands, only 11.3 acres have been improved as park land.

ZoLa, NYC’s zoning and land use site shows the area mapped out as parkland as well. It even categorizes it as open space/recreation

As you can see, NYC Parks has removed the land from the map and the acreage.

Mill Pond Park map at the park itself shows the southern parcel as part of future expansion of Mill Pond Park.

Please sign the petition and let the city and state know that this theft of land is NOT acceptable!

Ed García Conde

Ed García Conde is a life-long Bronxite who spends his time documenting the people, places, and things that make the borough a special place in the hopes of dispelling the negative stereotypes associated with The Bronx. His writings are often cited by mainstream media and is often consulted for his expertise on the borough's rich history.