Public provides feedback on future Harlem Riverfront Park
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, N 4 OVEMBER 17-28, 2019 BTR
BY KYLE VUILLE
Residents of Community Board 1
got the first glimpse of what will be
the future home of a riverfront park,
which is part of a $194 million investment
in the south Bronx.
Members of NYC Parks, NYC
Economic Development Corporation
and a design firm met with the public
at Hostas Community College on
Saturday, November 14 to collect information
and receive feedback from
those in attendance.
“We’re excited to receive input
from the community as we begin
developing a design and programming
for a new 2.3 acre park in the
south Bronx. We’re continuing to
fulfill the community’s desire for
open space and waterfront access
and will keep residents informed of
progress,” EDC chief and AVP, Public
Affairs, Shavone Williams said
in an email to the Bronx Times.
The organizers gave a brief presentation
of what the park could potentially
look like, followed by Q & A
session, a quick poll of the audience
and the formation of small focus
groups to receive the public’s opinion
of their vision of the park.
The future site of what the city is
calling the Lower Concourse Park
Project is situated between 144th
and 146th streets facing the Harlem
River and parallel to the Major Deegan
Expressway.
Historically and currently, the
site has been used for industrial
purposes and is also in the path of
Oak Point rail line that transports
the city’s trash out of town.
The park is just one piece of a
bigger infrastructure project after
approximately 30 blocks along
the Harlem River were rezoned for
mixed-use future development in
2009.
Following the rezoning of the
area, Mayor de Blasio announced a
$194 million infrastructure investment
to accommodate open space,
water access and affordable housing
within those 30 blocks along the
river to better serve the community.
Despite the entirety of this major
investment project, the focus of the
Thursday night meeting was the 2.3
acre park.
Presenters did display what their
hopes are for the park as well as constraints
for the project. Those issues
discussed in the presentation
included the area’s vulnerability to
flooding, the noise from the expressway
and the river’s swift current.
Members of the Bronx Council
of Environmental Quality Chancy
Young and Karen Argenti have been
a part of the discussion since 2009
and made their views clear on what
the park should include and how it
could have the best impact on the
community.
“The BCEQ has been working on
the riverfront for decades,” Young
said, “longer than they (Parks/EDC)
have, they have a lot of newer staff
as well.”
Young voiced his concern on how
dedicated and committed the community
outreach efforts actually
were prior to the meeting.
“I think the consultant they hired
didn’t do a great job,” Young said,
“in terms of outreach, there was a
poor turnout.”
One resident and welcometothebronx.
com founder and editor, Ed
Garcia, spoke out during the meeting.
“Why don’t I see more members
of my community here?”
Despite low community attendance
at the meeting, those who attended
were delighted to hear the
commitment to install open green
spaces as well as items like a comfort
station.
“I’m glad to hear Parks putting in
a comfort station because they are
expensive, but necessary for a wellused
park,” Young said.
Young also stressed the importance
of maintaining the park because
a neglected park is not a wellused
park.
Other suggestions and ideas for
the park were the needs for a mixeduse
greenway and a waterfront dock
for canoes and kayaks.
According to Argenti, terms used
by the parks department like esplanade
and promenade do not specify
if bike lanes would be implemented
into those walkways.
“We need to make sure it’s for bicycles
as well and it really needs to
be open all the time because people
will be using it as method of transportation,”
Argenti said.
Besides the actual amenities of
the park, Argenti discussed in further
detail in a later interview about
the importance of a living shoreline
and conducting further research on
the property through a Brownfield
study. She is concerned about continuous
polluting of water in the
area.
Argenti finds that a living shoreline,
which is essentially man-made
wetlands, would only help the surrounding
ecosystem.
“It would increase the productivity
of the fish and work as a surge in
the case of a hurricane,” Argenti explained.
With the park design being in
such preliminary stages, there will
be more opportunities for the public
to see what Parks and the EDC will
do with the area.
According to the project schedule,
further concept designs will be
presented to the Parks subcommittee
and the full board this coming
February.
According to the EDC, construction
on the park is expected to begin
in 2020.
Members of the public sit with representatives from NYC Parks and NYC EDC in small focus
groups at Hostas Community College on Nov. 14. Blank templates of the park and potential
amenities and features were glued or drawn on to receive the public’s feedback.
Schneps Media/Kyle Vuille