Stewardship of the Bronx Kill

East River Appendages: Bronx Kill

The Bronx Kill is among New York City's most overlooked waterways. Indeed, this mile-long tidal strait, which links the East River north of Hell Gate to the Harlem River entrance, is best known by inference: it puts the "island" in Randall's Island and necessitates the third leg of the Triborough Bridge. A round of phone calls by Waterwire to the offices of Bronx official and trade groups demonstrated that the waterway itself is unknown to many of those who could become its best allies.

For now, the most dedicated steward of the Bronx Kill is Friends of Brook Park, a group of community gardeners who tend to a Mott Haven plot several blocks inland. But their connection to the Bronx Kill isn't as fanciful as it might seem: the eponymous brook is the long-interred Mill Brook that once emptied into the Bronx Kill.

The group has broadened the scope of its ecological work to Mott Haven as a whole, and the Bronx Kill is an accessible part of the estuary that happens to offer quiet, intimate beauty for kayakers and other human-powered boaters without the worry of larger vessel traffic. In a sense, they are reclaiming an ancient connection. Canoe and kayak expeditions through the waterway begin on the Harlem River, near the Third Avenue Bridge. Crossings must be well timed for the tides, to ensure both the correct current direction and sufficient water height: at low water, parts of the Bronx Kill entirely bottom out, revealing mucky stretches, castaway cars and other assorted junk. Consequently, no commercial vessels navigate the kill, with local businesses mostly opting instead for rail and truck transportation.

A few others see the gully: Amtrak workers riding over the trestle that leads to the Hell Gate Bridge, pedestrians and bikers crossing the Triborough Bridge (and the occasional driver stuck in traffic), and ballplayers on Randall's Island wistfully eyeing the trajectory of foul pop-ups. For much of the kill's length, public access to the Bronx shoreline is cut off by rails and industrial lots, but workers appreciate the peace afforded by the waterway. "I couldn't ask for a more beautiful, serene view, especially in the Bronx," says Gary Fescine, director of operations for the New York Post, which has its printing plant at the eastern end of the Bronx Kill. "If they can do kayaking when the tide is in, that's great."

The Bronx Kill blipped onto the public policy radar screen several years ago when the New York Power Authority offered to construct a pedestrian bridge linking the Bronx with Randall's Island -- part of the agency's mitigation and community giveback for building two new power plants in the South Bronx. That plan, however, fell by the wayside when local officials argued that an improved Triborough Bridge path would be sufficient. The state authority instead committed millions of dollars to energy efficiency measures in the borough as a whole, including a recently unveiled green roof on the county courthouse, says NYPA spokesman Michael Saltzman. Unrelated state funding announced in April will extend Randall's Island bike paths to the Bronx Kill.

The Bronx Kill may yet find itself in the spotlight in coming years, as controversy grows over plans to build a water park -- the first in the nation for a large city -- on the northwest corner of Randall's Island. Announced by the Giuliani administration as a $48 million, 15-acre project, the project has ballooned to encompass 26 acres at a projected cost of $168 million. While civic watchdogs are concerned that Aquatic Development Group (ADG), a firm based in upstate New York, was awarded the contract to build the park without a formal bid process, ecologists worry about wetlands destruction, the cutting of trees, and chlorinated water from the attractions entering the Harlem River, Bronx Kill, and East River. Neighborhood leaders and some elected officials, including City Controller William Thompson and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, contend that high ticket prices -- which could run $37 for adults and about $30 for children -- would exclude lower-income residents from public parkland. But the city Parks Department and ADG argue that the theme park will provide jobs and bring activity to an underused space.

Resources:

Blue Link: Bronx Kill, Waterwire

Bronx Shoreline Accessible Mainly in Dreams, The New York Times, David Gonzalez, Aug. 10, 2004

Governor Announces $850,000 For Randall’s Island Recreation, Press release from the New York Governor's Office, April 7, 2006

Randall's Island Park, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

Friends of Brook Park

Aquatic Development Group

Images: Panorama by Bart Michaels for Friends of Brooks Park
Image of clean section of Bronx Kill courtesy Friends of Brooks Park

By Erik Baard
October 9, 2006

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Originally posted at: http://www.waterwire.net/News/fullstory.cfm?ContID=1923