In the News: On a Sliver of the Bronx, a Waterfront Respite

All along our estuary's waterfront, new access points are being opened to the public in an effort to regain our lost, but unbelievably rich, maritime heritage. The Bronx, lying in the far northern reaches of the NY - NJ Harbor Estuary, has often been the least accessible all of our region's waterfronts. In 2005, Mayor Bloomberg made a large first step in the right direction, providing a 600 foot-long stretch of access in Riverdale. Now we must continue to push forward until the entire coastline is accessible to all...JB

Photo: Bronx Waterfront/The CMRC

By Thomas J. Lueck
Published: December 5, 2006

I'm not sure how many people know how to get here, said Lisa San Felice, an amateur photographer, speaking last Thursday afternoon to the only other visitor to the Riverdale Waterfront Promenade and Fishing Access Site, one of New York City's least likely parks.

A tiny ribbon of land, the Riverdale park in the Bronx is 20 feet wide and 600 feet long, providing benches and a place to fish or take a stroll between Metro-North train tracks and the Hudson shoreline. Getting there involves stairs or elevators, crossing the railroad tracks on an elevated walkway and finding the gate to the park.

Since it was dedicated in 2005 by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the Riverdale retreat has been hailed as an important step, or at least a symbolic gesture, toward providing more public access to the city's underutilized waterfront. But there has also been the awkward question of who would actually use such a minuscule stretch of river frontage.

Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/nyregion/05ink.html

Bronx Borough Presidents Waterfront Plan
http://bronxboropres.nyc.gov/en/gv/president/waterfront.htm