On the Water with Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance

"Hey, where you going with those boats?" from the driver of a moving van and "You need water for those things," from a man standing on the corner. These are the things you here when you wheel canoes on trailers through the South Bronx. That is exactly what a few friends of Brook Park did last Friday, along with Roland Lewis and Jennifer Stark-Hernandez from the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, an organization whose mission is to make New York waterways more accessible.

Our day on the river introduced Roland and Jennifer to the challenge of accessing the waterfront from the South Bronx (navigating canoes-on-wheels through traffic!) and the reward that is a beautiful and refreshing paddle through the Harlem River, Bronx Kill and East River. The midpoint of our trip was a picnic on Randall's island with view of North and South Brother Islands as well as the old docks and piers that give a snapshot of a time when the South Bronx waterfront was accessible and active.

Wheeling our canoes back to the park after our sunny afternoon on the water, we answered those questions- "We're taking these boats to the Harlem River. We''ve got water right here."

by Emily Sandusky