EDC Strikes Easement Deal For Randall's Island Connector/South Bronx Greenway Project

Existing Randall's Island connector path. The pedestrian and bicycle span will link the South Bronx to the Island's parks and ballfields. The City needed an easement in order to build a path from the bridge to E. 132nd St. on the Bronx side. An agreement was reached last month with Harlem River Yard Ventures according to New York City Economic Development Corp. The land between the bridge and the South Bronx is part of a sprawling 96-acre rail yard owned by the State Department of Transportation but controlled by the private Harlem River Yards Ventures company under a 99 year lease it secured in 1991.

(Photo: New York City Economic Development)

Rendering of the Randall's Island Connector and pedestrian bridge that links the South Bronx and Randall's Island. (Image: New York City Economic Development Corp.)

Bronx/Randall's Island

By Geoffrey Croft

Low Tide - The Bronx Kill. The Randall's Island Connector bridge, which links the South Bronx and Randall's Island was built last year but has yet to open. The project was orginally supposed to be completed in 2010. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on image to enlarge

The quarter-mile Randall's Island Connector is a part of the 1.5 mile South Bronx Greenway, an initiative meant to increase waterfront access in the borough. The Connector will link to a greenway network that stretches from Randall's Island to Astoria, Queens and East Harlem.

The delays isn't the only source of contention on the project. For years South Bronx residents and environmental groups have been pushing for Con Edison to remove its deteriorating concrete conduit (above) located under the bridge. The company has utility cables buried in the structure that spans across the Bronx Kill that blocks human-powered craft including kayaks, canoes and rowing vessels from navigating the waterway.

"A navigable passage through the Bronx Kill is essential for the development of safe recreational boating in New York harbor and ongoing paddling and rowing programs, as well as the NYC Parks Water Trail," a April 30, 2008 letter sent to Mayor Bloomberg and EDC president Seth Pinsky stated.

The eleven signatories on the letter included representatives from numerous boating, park, and environmental organizations.

Last month a Con Edison spokesperson told A Walk In The Park that the Fire Department recently removed its electrical equipment which will pave the way for the structure's removal.

Con Edison's deteriorating concrete conduit is now located under the newly built Randall's Island Connector bridge. In June 2011, Con Edison finally agreed to remove the concrete-encased cables which blocks kayaks and canoes from navigating the Bronx Kill waterway.

Read More:

City Strikes a Deal for Bronx Bridge to Randall's Island

DNAinfo - May 24, 2012 - By Jeanmarie Evelly

Pact will let city build bridge to Randall’s Island

Mott Haven Herald - May 21, 2012 - By Bernard L. Stein

Randall's Island/South Bronx Connector Path Land Easement Still Not Secured

A Walk In The Park - January 24, 2012

Con Ed Finally Agrees To Move Cable Barrier Freeing Up Bronx Kill Waterway

A Walk In The Park - June 22, 2011

Randall’s Island Connector (RIC) project

Friends of Brook Park - April 30, 2008

Randall's Island/South Bronx Connector Path Land Easement Still Not Secured

Existing Randalls Island connector path. The pedestrian and bicycle span would link South Bronx to parks and ballfields. The land between the bridge and the South Bronx is owned by the State DOT but controlled by a private company, Harlem River Yards Ventures under a 99 year lease. The New York City Economic Development Corp. needs an easement so it can build a path from the bridge to E. 132nd St. (Photo: New York City Economic Development)

Bronx

The city could be building a bridge to nowhere, thanks to a muddled South Bronx land deal.

The Randalls Island Connector, a planned pedestrian and bicycle bridge, will eventually span the Bronx Kill, a narrow waterway separating the South Bronx from public ball fields and green space on Randalls Island.

But land between the bridge and the South Bronx street grid is controlled by a private company, Harlem River Yards Ventures. The New York City Economic Development Corp. needs an easement so it can build a path from the bridge to E. 132nd St, according to the New York Daily News.

The EDC and HRYV have worked together on the project for years and now that the city is ready to start bridge construction, it has made the company an easement offer. But no deal has been struck and now the project is in doubt, sources said.

Anthony Riccio, senior vice president of HRYV, said negotiations are ongoing and claimed there is no cause for concern.

"There is no problem," he said. "We are confident we will reach a satisfactory resolution soon."

But the viability of the $6 million bridge is at stake, said an EDC spokesman.

The Connector will link the South Bronx to a greenway network that stretches from Randalls Island to Astoria, Queens and East Harlem.

We are hopeful that the negotiations with (HRYV) can be resolved quickly, so the city can move forward with this important project," said Kyle Sklerov, EDC spokesman, claiming the bridge will help South Bronx residents enjoy the outdoors.

The strip of land needed for the path is actually public property already, part of a sprawling 96-acre rail yard owned by the state Department of Transportation.

But HRYV controls the land because it secured a 99-year lease for the site in 1991 under terms later slammed by the state controller as a sweetheart deal.

Harry Bubbins, executive director of Friends of Brook Park, a South Bronx group, called the Connector "an extremely important" project with widespread community support. But he blasted the easement negotiations.

"The site belongs to the state. It is unfathomable why we even have to pay to use it and (HRYV) should expedite the easement."

The EDC and HRYV are also in talks about building a new headquarters for Fresh Direct at the rail yard. The Queens-based grocery delivery company is mulling a move to the site, with the EDC offering it millions of dollars in public benefits.

Despite the timing, Sklerov said the Connector and Fresh Direct projects are unrelated.

U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano (D-South Bronx) is betting on the Connector.

"I am confident any last minute problems will be worked out and this important project will move forward," he said.

Read More:

Randalls Island Connector could become bridge to nowhere due to

muddy South Bronx property deal

New York Daily News - January 24, 2012 - By Daniel Beekman

Port Morris Gantries Access Could Usher In South Bronx Waterfront Access

"We have no official public waterfront access along the coast of the South Bronx," said Harry Bubbins, Director of Friends Of Brook Park. "The gantries are an example of the rich nautical history of New York and could become a bridge to future community use."

The historic Port Morris ferry gantries located at 134th Street and the East River in the South Bronx could become the heart of a new waterfront park in the South Bronx. Friends of Brook Park and the Historic District Council are hoping to preserve and transform the ferry gantry site that launched passenger ferries decades ago into a vital new public space. The new park would provide recreation, youth programs, education, preservation and create desperalty needed waterfront access for the South Bronx. (Photo: Alexandra Corazza)

Bronx

Two remarkable but unheralded Bronx sites could be remembered, restored and reborn thanks to recognition from a powerful advocacy group.

The Historic District Council this week recognized the Port Morris Gantries and Van Cortlandt Village as New York neighborhoods in need of preservation, according the New York Daily News.

"Neighborhoods throughout New York are fighting an unseen struggle to determine their own futures," said Simeon Bankoff, HDC executive director.

The soaring gantries arched cranes once used to lift ferry boats in and out of the East River could become the heart of a new waterfront plaza in gritty industrial Port Morris near E. 134th St.

Meanwhile, highlighting the rich history of middle-class housing in Van Cortlandt Village could help local residents beat back what they call inappropriate real estate development.

The sites were two of six recognized by the HDC this week. Last year, no sites honored by the nonprofit were in the Bronx. "To some degree, the Bronx is overlooked, said Bankoff, pledging to put the borough on the map."

Friends of Brook Park, a South Bronx community group, asked HDC to recognize the Port Morris Gantries. The group is working on a proposal for the redevelopment of the abandoned ferry terminal as a waterfront recreation and education center, said Harry Bubbins, executive director.

"We have no official public waterfront access along the coast of the South Bronx," said Bubbins. "The gantries are an example of the rich nautical history of New York and could become a bridge to future community use."

The Historic Districts Council, the city-wide advocate for historic buildings and neighborhoods, included the Port Morris Gantries in its recently announced Six to Celebrate, the group's annual listing of historic New York City neighborhoods that merit preservation attention. "By bringing these locally-driven neighborhood preservation efforts into the spotlight, HDC hopes to focus New Yorker’s attention on the very real threats that historic communities throughout the city are facing from indiscriminate and inappropriate development,” said Simeon Bankoff, HDC’s Executive Director. (Photo: Jake Dobkin)

The Port Morris site was a ferry terminal from 1906 through the 1960s, carrying New Yorkers from the Bronx to Queens, Long Island and North Brother Island.

Used briefly as a police marina, the site is now mostly abandoned, and the gantries are decrepit and rusty. But the property is still owned by the city. Bankoff said HDC plans to help Friends of Brook Park gain access to the site for youth programs and boating.

In Van Cortlandt Village, the Fort Independence Park Neighborhood Association has been fighting a handful of land grabs and new housing projects.

The community sits atop the ruins of a Revolutionary War fort and was designed by legendary landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead. It boasts small Tudor revival homes and during the 1920s became a mecca for socialist factory workers fleeing the tenements of the lower East Side to build cooperative housing.

Now that former co-ops such as the Shalom Aleichem Houses have fallen on hard times and the character of the neighborhood is threatened by overdevelopment, HDC will help FIPNA get it listed on the national historic register, said Kristin Hart, president of the community group.

“We want people who live here to know about and celebrate the great history of the neighborhood,” she said.

Friends of Brook Park hope to launch human-powered watercraft and provide recreational and educational youth programs from the Port Morris Gantries site.

Read More:

Historic District Council names Port Morris Gantries and Van Cortlandt Village for preservation Powerful advocacy group recognizes two Bronx sites

New York Daily News - January 13, 2011 - By Daniel Beekman

Port Morris Gantries Preservation

Friends Of Brook Park

Con Ed Finally Agrees To Move Cable Barrier Freeing Up Bronx Kill Waterway

Con Edison has finally agreed to remove concrete-encased cables blocking kayaks and canoes navigating Bronx Kill waterway. (Photo: © Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates

Bronx

The Bronx Kill, a waterway long closed to kayaks and canoes, could become navigable by the end of the year, buoying the spirits of urban paddlers, according to the New York Daily News.

Con Edison cables currently block even small boats from using the narrow strait between the South Bronx and Randalls Island.

But under rising pressure from community groups and local officials, the utility has agreed to remove the cables and open the channel, which connects the East River and the Harlem River.

"Four years of tireless advocacy have paid off," said Harry Bubbins of Friends of Brook Park, calling the Bronx Kill a "tranquil and beautiful waterway."

The concrete-encased Con Ed cables span the strait near the RFK-Triborough Bridge. Only during low tide can canoes and kayaks squeeze under the cables, and then for no more than an hour, said Bubbins.

"They limit recreation and education by prohibiting the safe and easy passage of canoes and kayaks," he said.

But Con Ed is working with the city's Economic Development Corp. to remove the cables.

It recently built a trestle between the South Bronx and Randalls Island that will hold new cables and support a pedestrian and bicycle pathway, helping Bronx residents access Randalls Island.

Con Ed wouldn't set a time line for removing old cables, but Bubbins expects them to be gone within a year.

"We will continue to coordinate with Con Ed on the removal of the old conduit structure," said EDC spokesman Kyle Sklerov, calling the pathway a "key link in the city's greenway system."

Construction on the pathway is slated to begin next year.

Kayaks and canoes can already float from the East River to the Harlem River using the Hell Gate strait south of Randalls Island. But the route is less sheltered than the Bronx Kill and the water there is more turbulent.

Rob Buchanan, co-founder of the NYC Water Trail Association, called the planned Bronx Kill opening a "significant victory" andan outgrowth of the NYC Water Trail, a 2007 project that mapped local canoe and kayak launches and routes.

"The Bronx Kill is a really unique urban waterway that's very protected and kind of swirls through a bucolic landscape of green," said Buchanan. "It connects the Harlem River and the East River in a practical way."

He said the Water Trail Association hopes locals who learn to boat as kids will protect the city's waterways when they grow up.

Friends of Brook Park, in Mott Haven, leads kids on paddle tours to promote exercise and awareness of the environment.

Read More:

Urban Kayakers gain victory with Con Ed agreeing to move cable barricade at Bronx Kill by year's end

New York Daily News - June 21, 2011 - By Daniel Beekman

Parks Department Amnesia Over Rescued South Bronx Red-Tailed Hawk

That Red-Tailed Hawk Looks Familar. Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe proudly holds a six-month old rehabilitated Red-Tailed Hawk that was rescued in the South Bronx on June 28, 2010. Yesterday the Parks Department omitted details relating to who actually rescued the hawk for a press event. (Photo: Daniel Avila/NYC Parks & Recreation Department)

Bronx

On the same day the Park's Department's press office was releasing false public safty information to a Bronx reporter regarding the number of dedicated PEP officers available to patrol parks in the Bronx,  they were also omitting details of an animal rescue at a press conference.

Yesterday DPR flak Jesslyn Moser repeatedly tried to mislead Bronx News 12 reporter Sonia Moghe by telling her the Bronx has 18 officers to patrol 7,000 acres instead of only 1. At a press conference a few hours earlier in Central Park the Parks Department chose to leave out any detailed information about who actually helped rescue the hawk. (Its been a tough week for DPR's press office in the veracity department) 

June 28, 2010. A red-tailed hawk, believed to be less than two months old, was brought to Brook Park. The young raptor was then transported by canoe to a licensed falconer. (Photo: Geoffrey Croft, NYC Park Advocates) 

For the record, the collaborative hawk rescue effort included three South Bronx residents - Lee Rivera, Danny Chervoni and Friends of Brook Park president Harry Bubbins, two Brook Park volunteers, Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates and lots of good-old-fashioned South Bronx goodwill along the way.   It goes without saying that not one of the folks involved with getting the hawk to the falconer were invited to the press event.

We wish a wonderful heathy life to that beautiful hawk.

June 28, 2010. The red-tailed hawk was rescued by local environmentalists after falling from an air-conditioner in the South Bronx. (Photo: Geoffrey Croft, NYC Park Advocates) 

Read More:

Adrian Hogs the spotlight

Queens Crap - September 30, 2010

Rescued Red-Tailed Hawk Heads Back To Nature

gothmist - By Jen Chung

Wild in Central Pk.

New York Post -  September 30, 2010 - By Sabrina Ford and Cynthia R. Fagen

 

Baby Red-Tailed Hawk Rescued In The South Bronx

A Walk In The Park - July 1,  2010 

Community Gardens Threatened Under Proposed NYC Rules - Push To Preserve All Gardens

More Gardens, Less Asthma - August 16, 2000. A young girl walks down E. 137th Street in the South Bronx, the asthma capital of America.  Photo: © Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates (Click image to enlarge)

New rules written by the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development omits language that guarantees the protection of gardens preserved by the existing 2002 Spitzer agreement.  Since that agreement, over 130 gardens have been bulldozed (over 250 gardens have been destroyed since 1998) and 20 gardens are in imminent danger of development, according to garden activists. With the agreement set to expire on September 17, community garden, open space, public health activists are pushing to preserve all gardens. Currently, only 282 gardens are protected under the Parks Department. A public hearing on the proposed rules is being held on August 10, at the Chelsea Recreation Center in Manhattan and a number of events are being planned.  

Hearing: August 10, 2010, 11 a.m. Proposed Garden Rules Public Hearing

Chelsea Recreation Center, 430 West 25th Street, Manhattan,10001 (between 9 and 10 ave) To testify at the hearing, notify Associate Counsel, Ms. Laura LaVelle via telephone at 212-360-1335 or email at laura.lavelle@parks.nyc.gov by August 9.

City-Wide

By Geoffrey Croft

According to garden activists the City has not complied with a number of stipulations contained in the original settlement agreement, these include: 

1. 198 gardens be preserved by offering them to parks or land trusts 2. A SEQRA review be performed. 3. All gardens subject to development go through Garden Review and ULURP. As the terms of this agreement stands, even after Sept. 17, 2010 the proposed rules would violate the terms of the agreement.

Critics also point out the new rules offer the option of alternate sites when the City is aware that there are few, if any, alternate sites available. They contend this language is inaccurate and misleading. 

 

They point out that Attorney General Spitzer's suit made it clear that not only was the City violating SEQRA by changing their policy of creating gardens and supporting Greenthumb, but that many of the gardens qualified as Dedicated Parkland under the law of Implied Dedication. The proposed rule would ignore the gardens parkland status, the contend.

Critics also contend that the lawsuit made it clear that community gardens were not standing in the way of affordable housing, as few, if any units of affordable housing have been created as a result, and there are numerous other avenues for the City to do so including renovating abandoned buildings city wide.

"This is worse than what (Rudy) Giuliani tried to do ten years ago," said Harry Bubbins, a veteran of the community garden movement and founder of Friends of Brook Park in the South Bronx.

 "The garden movement was undercut then by private organizations that bought over a hundred gardens. Although the auction was stopped the rest of the gardens remained vulnerable as many of us pointed out at the time.  Only a law that fully protects them will ensure that the gardens which our communities desperately need will be preserved."

Community Board 3.

Last night Manhattan CB 3's  Parks, Recreation, Cultural Affairs, Landmarks, & Waterfront Committee voted unanimously to update and amend their District Needs Statement.  The statement Included strong support to protect its community gardens, and pointed out the lack of open space in the community. 

"Community Board 3, like most districts in the City, does not meet the City Planning Commission's guidelines for per capita open space. The open space/population ratio is approximately 0.7 acres per 1000 people. By comparison, the Governor's Open Space Report recommended 2.5 acres per 1000, and New York City averages 1.5 acres. The open space that we do have is not evenly distributed throughout the district. The area west of Avenue A and the Chinatown area lack adequate open space. 

 

A few community gardens have been transferred to the Parks Department, but at the same time, the fate of many others is still uncertain. For sites not being transferred to the Parks Department, the City should consider transferring them to local community organizations that can maintain the locations as permanent open community space. Once open space is lost to development, it is very unlikely that it will ever be replaced." 

 

The community board also issued a strong statement regarding the lack of park maintenance and the need for increased spending:

"It is one thing to have land set aside as a park, but our parks also need constant maintenance by trained DPR professionals. The number of park workers is at a 30-year low and funding for park maintenance is equally scarce. Many of the parks in our district have suffered from years of neglect and deferred maintenance, and now are experiencing increasing levels of usage. Increasing the number of full time, permanent park workers and staffed playgrounds will allow for fuller use of our parks and play areas." 

Press Release: For Immediate Release 

 

“Green Means Gardens: Preserve., Preserve, Preserve.”

Time’s Up! Statement on New Garden Rules

 

Contacts:

Benjamin Shepard – 917 586-7952

Bill DiPaolo – 917-577-5621

 

With the new Department of Parks and Recreation and Department of Housing Preservation and Development rules the city has taken a huge step backward. Community gardens in New York have thrived since the 2002 Spitzer Agreement which preserved these precious green spaces (“2002 Preservation Agreement”).  Yet, with the Preservation Agreement expiring on September 17, 2010, the city appears to have abandoned its efforts to preserve green spaces.  With the new rules, all the gardens may now be legally transferred for development, rather than preserved.

 

The benefits of gardens are many.  “Community gardening is a way to fight the systemic injustice of poverty and other forms of structural oppression.  Most of the gardens are in poor areas of the city, with much higher rates of asthma and lower rates of open space equity.  From an indigenous/community perspective, gardens offer a way for our community to heal itself and to recover a humanizing sense of itself - its dignity - in an otherwise very hard city," explained Friends of Brook Park gardener Ray Figueroa.   For New Yorkers of all walks of life, the gardens provide much needed green space (particularly in low-income communities of color). 

 

“Don’t destroy our gardens.  Don’t destroy our communities,” declared long time Lower East Side activist Paul Bartlett.   “Gardens helps us connect with both the earth and our communities, in ways which parking lots, coffee shops, and other urban spaces fail to.” 

 

“In the midst of a fiscal crisis, the city could only dream of having such unique spaces which help the city so much, yet cost so little,” explained Benjamin Shepard. “Gardens help stabilize communities and reduce crime.  They are also places where people of all walks of life come together.  They are places of education about the environment and the city, as well as the world ecology.  These are precious public spaces, which should not be privatized.”

 

“This is the hottest summer on record,” explained Lower East Side gardener JK Canepa.  “Community gardens help cool Manhattan.  If you allow the gardens to be turned into concrete spaces, the city only gets hotter.”  After all, gardens promote health and the reduction of heat throughout the five boroughs. 

 

Sharon S., a community gardener in East New York, said he wants to ask the mayor, "What kind of green are you preserving? In Plan 2030, you say you want this to be a green city. Being a green city does not mean catering to developers. To be truly green, Mr. Mayor, we need you to expand green space in every neighborhood, not just the wealthy ones. Community gardens are the only open green spaces that many low income neighborhoods have. Yet you're replacing the good 2002 Preservation Agreement with rules that will bulldoze gardens one by one."

 

“In a time of fiscal crisis when New Yorkers have seen reduction in services and increases in costs across the board, why cut something people love and that costs the city almost nothing?” asked Lower East Side environmental activist Bill DiPaulo. 

 

“Most other cities consider the gardens something to cherish.  This is an opportunity for Bloomberg to demonstrate he appreciates green space is a resource for global cooling and community development,” explained Times Up! Director Bill DiPaulo.  “Why should the mayor sell this space off to developers when there is such an opportunity to create a different kind of green, more forward leaning New York?  Making gardens permanent could be Bloomberg’s legacy.”

 

In the end, those involved with Times Up! and the garden movement urge the city to reject these rules and makes a final commitment to a green city by making all the gardens permanent once and for all. The group plans to organize to defend these precious spaces using a wide range of means, from legal advocacy to direct action.  The group plans to stage a “Paul Revere” Group Bike Ride to the gardens next week to sound the alarm that the gardens are in danger.  

July 2008 - The Baltic Street Community Garden in Park Slope. The 30-year-old community garden, located in Councilman David Yassky's district, was destroyed in 2009 by the NYC Department of Education.  

 

Read More:

Cyclists' advocacy group Times Up! plans to protest outside Mayor Bloomberg's townhouse    New York Daily News - July 29, 2010 - By  Simone Weichselbaum

 

Paul Revere,  Rat Zoos and the GTL Index

New York Times - City Room Blog  -  July 28, 2010 - By J. David Goodman

Proposed NYC Rules Threaten Community Garden

Flatbush  Gardener - July 27, 2010

Proposed New Rules Worry Community Garden Advocates

A Walk In The Park - July 6, 2010

New Yorkers For Parks New Director Angers Some Green Advocates

A Walk In the Park - April 19, 2010 - By Jennifer Riveraton

Baltic Street Community Garden’s future is in limbo

Warren /St. Marks Community Garden

GARDEN DEAL BARES ROOTS OF DISCORD

New York Daily News -  May 23 1999 - By David Lefer