Cohen announces funding for VCP pedestrian bridge
Proposed rendering of the VCP Pedestrian Bridge from 2018. NYC Department of Design and Construction
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, SEPTEMBER 2 6 7-OCTOBER 3, 2019 BTR
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Councilman Andrew Cohen
was joined by community
members and his fellow elected
offi cials at Van Cortlandt Park
on Friday, September 20 as he
announced the full funding of
the Van Cortlandt Park pedestrian
bridge.
The project has received
the $11,500,000 additional capital
needed to fully fund the
$23,500,000 project.
Councilman Cohen has
been committed to seeing this
project through to completion,
and fought to ensure that the
short-fall in capital was rectifi
ed with the passage of the
city’s most recent budget.
He worked with Mayor de
Blasio, Assembly Speaker Carl
Heastie, the New York State
Senate, Borough President
Ruben Diaz Jr., Congressman
Eliot Engel and Assemblyman
Jeffrey Dinowitz to secure the
$12 million needed for the full
funding of the design and construction
of the pedestrian
bridge in 2015.
Since securing the necessary
capital over four years
ago, the NYC Department of
Design and Construction commenced
the planning and design
work, which revealed
that the cost of the bridge was
projected to be $10 to $12 million
more than the original
estimate made by the city in
2015. In 2019, Cohen worked
the mayor’s offi ce of Management
& Budget to ensure that
fully funding this pedestrian
bridge remained a priority of
the city.
The construction of a Van
Cortlandt Park pedestrian
bridge has been a goal of the
community for several decades
as a way to combat the
devastating impacts that Robert
Moses and the Major Deegan
Expressway have had on
Van Cortlandt Park. The addition
of a pedestrian bridge
would allow neighboring
communities to easily access
both sides of the 1,146-acre
landscape, which they are
currently unable to do easily
without a car.
By uniting the western
and eastern halves of the park
back together the park will be
made more equitable for all
New Yorkers, giving easy access
to all the facilities and
beauty that Van Cortlandt
Park has to offer.
“I am thrilled to announce
that the Van Cortlandt Park
pedestrian bridge project has
fi nally received full funding,”
said Cohen.
“This is a project that the
Alliance, our two predecessor
organizations, and the
Bronx community have advocated
for over the last decade.
This is a momentous occasion
for Van Cortlandt Park,” said
Nina Habib Spencer and Carol
Samol, co-chairs Van Cortlandt
Park Alliance
“Securing funding for the
construction of this pedestrian
bridge in Van Cortlandt
Park means greater accessibility
for Bronxites who frequent
the park grounds,” said
Heastie.
“I look forward to crossing
the bridge, like so many other
Bronxites and park users from
all over the region, in the near
future,” said Borough President
Diaz.
Congressman Eliot Engel
said, “We have been requesting
a pedestrian footbridge to
connect Van Cortlandt Park
for years, and now thanks to
the efforts of our local elected
offi cials, the funding is in
place to make it happen.” “I
look forward to a continued
dialogue with all stakeholders
to ensure the bridge is built in
a way that refl ects what our
community wants - cost effi -
cient, aesthetically appealing,
and environmentally sensitive
which will not needlessly cut
down trees,” said Dinowitz.