Cohen announces funding for VCP pedestrian bridge
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 shortfall
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
Proposed rendering of the VCP Pedestrian Bridge from 2018. NYC Department of Design and Construction
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.
BRONX WEEKLY S www.BXTimes.com eptember 29, 2019 6
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