CB1 residents wary about
$194 million park project
BY JASON COHEN
Community Board 1 residents fear
that a mega project coming to the
neighborhood in two years will slowly
push everyone out.
On Thursday, January 30, representatives
of the NYC Economic Development
Corporation presented its plan to
develop a riverfront park, ‘The Lower
Concourse Park Project,’ which is part
of a 2.3 acre $194 million investment in
the south Bronx.
In November, very few residents attended
the fi rst EDC public meeting
about the project. Last week was quite
the opposite.
“We tried to get the word out as
much as we could, but the reality is
people didn’t come,” Waheera Mardah,
senior project manager, government
and community relations for
EDC, said about the initial meeting. “I
wanted to make sure their voices were
heard.”
Some attendees were in favor of
including a parking lot and others
wanted the area to be served by the a
city bus. A few questioned whether the
park would even be built.
Mardah assured the attendees that
the Lower Concourse Park Project is
for Mott Haven and not wealthy mil-
lennials.
“I won’t necessarily say the park is
a catalyst for development,” Mardah
said. “This is something that was committed
to the community regardless.”
Rev. John Udo Okon is worried
the park can lead to more high priced
homes, high rises and buildings that
are out of character with the community.
People can barely afford to live here
now and the city wants to put this monstrous
project here, he noted.
“So many developments are taking
place around there,” the reverend said.
“I believe things are going to change. I
just want to fi nd out if this park will
be acceptable to the south Bronx people
that are still living here or are we
building this park for the new people
that are coming?”
However, Udo Okon said the park
could also benefi t the south Bronx. It
will provide a safe fun place for people
to go and could be a bright spot in an
underserved community.
But, the reverend still isn’t sure.
Residents of the south Bronx were
there when the Bronx was burning,
but now that it’s slowly on the mend,
is the city putting money into big projects
to push them out again?
Another resident echoed his sentiments.
Bronx-born ‘Queen of
Suspense’ passes away at 92
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,2 FEBRUARY 7-13, 2020 BTR
The site of the future $194 million Lower Concourse Project. Photo Courtesy NYC EDC
He sees the park as a doubleedged
sword. It can benefi t the south
Bronx, but on the fl ipside, could lead to
more high priced homes, fancy restaurants
and push the local people out.
“I think the park is good,” he said.
“A concern is most people cannot top
live in this neighborhood.”
Historically and currently, the
lower Grand Concourse has been used
for manufacturing and is not far from
the Harlem River Yard rail yard that
stores and transports the city’s trash
out of town.
The park is one piece of a bigger infrastructure
puzzle of approximately
30 city blocks along the Harlem River
that were rezoned for mixed-use future
development in 2009.
The site is situated between E. 144th
and E. 146th streets facing the Harlem
River and parallel to the Major Deegan
Expressway.
Residents were encouraged to take
a survey online at https://edc.nyc/
project/lower-concourse-infrastructure
investment-strategy.
In March, EDC reps will return to
CB1 and discuss the results. Construction
is expected to begin in 2022.
BY KYLE VUILLE
Best selling novelist dubbed by
many as the Queen of Suspense, Mary
Higgins Clark, a Bronx native left us
last week at the age of 92 years old.
Clark passed away peaceful surrounded
by family on January 31, 2020
in Naples, FL due to complications of
old age.
The author is best known for the
novel, ‘Where are the Children?’ along
with 56 other fi ction novels all described
as thrillers or suspense novels.
Clark was born Mary Theresa Eleanor
Higgins on December 24, 1927 in
the Bronx.
The prolifi c writer grew up in a traditional
Irish American family. Her
Irish immigrant father owned a pub,
but died unexpectedly leaving her
mother, Nora, as the sole provider until
the children were old to help with
the fi nances.
Clark attended St. Francis Xavier
Grammar School and Villa Maria
Academy.
She then was sent off to secretarial
school, but her aspirations of becoming
a prolifi c writer only grew.
According to her long-time editor
and friend, Michael Korda, Clark
worked many different jobs including
a switchboard operator and for a while
a stewardess for Pan American Airlines
which was a glamorous job in its
day.
“She had a rough time for a while
after her husband died. She raised her
fi ve children on her own,” Korda said.
“To me, she’s a perfect example of the
Irish-American success story.”
Clark spent years writing short
stories and other bits for radio and
magazines, but after the death of her
brother, she fully immersed herself in
writing a full-blown novel.
Clark’s fi rst major breakthrough
novel, ‘Where are the Children?’ was
published in 1975. The publisher Simon
& Schuster bought the novel
and it quickly earned $100,000 several
months later when the paperback
rights for the book were sold.
“We were friends for 45 years,”
Korda said. “56 books we edited and
published working together and we
never had a spat or disagreement
ever.”
Korda described their relationship
as a close one saying the two never
went a week without speaking to each
other at least once or twice.
He has only fond memories of Clark
and their many years working together.
Portrait of Mary Higgins Clark. The famed author from the Bronx passed away last week at
the age of 92. Photo by Bernard Vidal
He spoke of her character and personality,
which was almost angelic
like.
“She had enormous energy and a
remarkable personality,” Korda said.
“She was never temperamental or unkind,
she was tactful, humorous and
kind when she spoke to anyone.”
Korda remembered the two last
saw each other at a lunch meeting in
White Plains before she fl ew down to
Florida.
The two were supposed to meet in
New Jersey, but inclement weather
forced them to meet in Westchester
County instead.
“We had lunch and split a bottle of
wine,” Korda said. “Even in her later
years, she was so eager to be around
friends and share a glass of wine.”
Her friend also mentioned the author’s
awareness of who her readers
were and what they wanted from her.
“Even when it came to suggestions,
she would either say, ‘yeah, that works’
or ‘no, my readers wouldn’t like that’,”
Korda said.
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