BY SHAYLA LOVE

The Bronx wants to take back its waterfront property.

With the successful transformation of crumbling riverfronts on the Hudson and East rivers, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is pursuing a new waterfront district along the Harlem River between 138th and 149th streets. The park is made possible because of the 2009 rezoning of the Lower Concourse, which encourages greater density, commercial and residential activity.

An aerial view on the Google Maps website shows empty lots, piers and storage units, which would be revamped into 1.1 million square feet of residential space, 865,000 square feet of commercial space and 269,000 square feet of park and community space, according to Diaz’s plan. “It is time for the creation of a new waterfront district…” Diaz said in his statement about his venture. “One that would lead to development similar to the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Bronxites should have the quality waterfront access, and this project could make that happen.”

The Special Harlem River Waterfront District (SHRWD) would create thousands of jobs, mixed-income housing and over $500 million in new development to the Bronx, Diaz said. The only question becomes one of funding, to get the project off the ground.

Finding Funding
Walking along Brooklyn Bridge Park’s lush greenbelts, bustling sports fields and playgrounds, it’s hard to imagine the park’s dilapidated predecessor. The piers used to be sagging emblems of an industrial past, as did much of New York City’s waterfront real estate. Brooklyn has successfully made the East River property their own again.

The Norwood News spoke to Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Belinda Cape, vice president of Strategic Partnership, about their park’s funding, to get an idea of what could be coming for the SHRWD. She said that Brooklyn Bridge Park, from its founding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2002, was mandated to be financially self-sustaining. Former mayor Michael Bloomberg and former governor George Pataki dedicated state and city funding for its construction with the condition that the park would be economically self-sufficient. To do this, the park’s construction included high-rise towers and retail stores to generate funds.

“Revenue producing development is a necessary component of the project to support its annual maintenance and operations,” Cape said. “At this point, this revenue-generating development is approved for approximately 10 percent of the park’s footprint.”

So how does this translate to the borough? Same principle. John DeSio, a spokesman from Diaz’s office, said that for SHRWD, they expect it to be paid for “through public and private partnership.” He said it was too soon to go into specifics and that there is no timeline for completion at this time.

But he admits delivery of this waterfront is years in the making. Indeed, developers would need to buy up the existing New York Recycling Center and bus depot to make way for the waterfront. Bronx residents will have to wait to see what the strategy for tackling this park will be.

“Our office has had extensive conversations with the Department of City Planning regarding the viability of this proposal, and that agency has contributed greatly to this process,” DeSio said. “We’ve had discussions with organizations, elected officials, community members and others about this proposal, and those discussions are ongoing.”

Looking Ahead
Brooklyn Bridge Park is still unfinished, but has been successfully on mark in its financial goals so far. Cape said about their model: “The proof is in the pudding – the park is incredibly popular, expanding at leaps and bounds, and at this juncture, 72 percent complete or under construction.”

Hopes are just as high for SHRWD. The New York Daily News imagined a hot summer night watching a movie along the river, under the stars, with Yankee Stadium as a backdrop. The New York Times envisions a destination park, comparing the result to Brooklyn Bridge Park. No matter how Diaz gets there, the park symbolizes not just renovation, but innovation.

Diaz said that new development encourages greater progression of the Bronx as a whole and that “all over the world, people are thinking differently about our borough. And here at home, the 1.4 million people who proudly call themselves Bronxites are embracing the ‘New Bronx.’”

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.