Achieving Waterfront Parks & Access in the Short-term

Achieving Waterfront Parks & Access in the Short-term
Bronx Borough President¹s Public Hearing
Lower Concourse ReZoning Proposal

Testimony March 10, 2009
Good morning. My name is Harry J. Bubbins, Director of Friends of Brook Park
(FoBP), the South, South Bronx based environmental, arts and sustainable
development organization. FoBP is committed to ensuring that our Mott
Haven, Melrose and Port Morris communities enjoy easy access to our
waterfront and full enjoyment of the current and proposed public
amenities, including public sports fields, natural areas, shore line
greenway, waterfront and river access and more.

This testimony pertains to the Lower Concourse Rezoning Public Review
process now underway.
Through the South Bronx Initiative, a Mayoral effort to identify community
priorities and create a coordinated economic development strategy for the
South Bronx, the Lower Concourse rezoning proposal Public Review will
continue through the environmental review and ULURP process.
The City Planning Commission, as environmental lead agency, issued a Notice
of Completion for a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the
proposal, on January 30, 2009.
The proposal began formal public review on February 2, 2009 with the
Department of City Planning¹s certification of the Uniform Land Use Review
Procedure (ULURP) application (C 090303 ZMX) and referral of the related
zoning text amendment (N 090302 ZRX).
While we are encouraged that the Harlem River and this area are getting much
needed attention, we must highlight in particular one aspect that needs to
be included before you should support this.
One, real waterfront access.
The proposed inclusion of a vision for parkland and waterfront access is a
small step to rectify historical inequities. But, with the location of the
CSX railway along the Western border of the Bronx, any park space that is
blocked by the raised rail in the Harlem River is not really "waterfront"
space in the truest sense of the word, which would be inclusive of on-water
recreational opportunities. The proposed space below 149th Street suffers
from this rail barrier. In addition, the proposed park space there is
contingent on highway development and building development, which would
likely not occur until some indeterminate time in the unknown future.
RECOMMENDATION:
The proposed zoning footprint should be expanded south to include the Park
Avenue location that the community has been advocating for use as a park
space for over ten years. As it stands the proposed map stops mere feet
from including this obvious and natural site for a community park,
waterfront with water access. This site is featured on the cover of the NYC
Department of City Planning¹s Bronx Harlem River Waterfront Bicycle and
Pedestrian Study, 2006.
This existing green-space is ready to use as a park already and would serve
the Lower Grand Concourse area and beyond, without delaying a much needed
resources until the distant future. This is an ideal opportunity to map
this location as parkland for the existing community and for residents and
businesses to come. With this minor modification that in no way detracts
from any of the proposed ReZoning goals or plans we can achieve immediate
waterfront park and access with minimal if any Capital costs.
With this slight extension of the proposed map by a mere 100 feet to the
South along the Harlem River we will successfully achieve one of the major
stated goals of the ReZoning, which is to ³Provide new waterfront open space
to an underserved community.²
This waterfront open space at the end of Park Avenue would work to support
the effort to create a continuous promenade along the Harlem River and
connect the proposed parks to the north with the existing Port Morris
community to the south.
Thank you for your time and attention. We look forward to your response and
to support your advocacy to leverage the Public Review process to gain
substantial benefits for our community.
http://www.friendsofbrookpark.org
646.641.5788