Photo by Kimberly Jacobs
By KIMBERLY JACOBS
Norwood residents may or may not have noticed the new dogwood trees planted throughout the lawns on Mosholu Parkway. But for those who have, there have been some cheers and jeers.
“It’s about half and half. Some people think they look lovely and others claim we lost our green space,” said Barbara Stronczer, president of Bedford Mosholu Community Association and chair of Community Board 7 Parks Committee. ”Many people compare [Mosholu Parkway] to the green lawn at Central Park but for the Bronx.”
The trees, spotted on Mosholu Parkway between Van Cortlandt Avenue East and Bainbridge Avenue, were planted sometime in mid-spring.
New York City Department of Parks & Recreation is clear on its intentions for the new plantings despite some criticism. “Thanks to New York Tree Trust, plantings have been taking place to bring 225 new trees to enhance the mall aesthetically, increase overhead canopy and add the environmental benefits of trees while also limiting the potential for active use of the center malls,” said a spokesperson for the Parks Department.
Active use includes playing games. And with the Parks Department emphasizing a no sports rule, players go elsewhere. Williamsbridge Oval Park, Frisch Field for baseball, and Bronx Park allow for sports use.
With more property development and more neighborhood residents, the new plantings are seen as a way to protect the green area in Norwood from overuse, said Elizabeth Quaranta, president of Friends of Mosholu Parkway, a volunteer group that helps manage the parkway. “There’s a lot of human usage and just as much as we want to use it we also need to protect what we use.”
Friends of Mosholu Parkway have received some complaints about people using the lawn space, mostly from residents who’ve lived in the area for over 3o years
“They remember not so much traffic, not so many buildings, less populated, and with that it means less usage of the parkway. The grass was greener and there was less brown soil,” said Quaranta.
Norwood resident Felicia Williams enjoys the new trees, calling the plantings a “good thing.”
“The more trees, the more oxygen and it makes the park look prettier and nice,” said Williams, optimistic residents looking for a recreational space will find somewhere else to play sports. “They’ll find somewhere else to kick the ball.”
Stronzcer is one of the few residents who reserved judgment on the plantings. “I’m not making any commitment to whether I think it’s a good idea or poor, I’m waiting to see in another year or two,” said Stronzcer.
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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.
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Great Story!! The best part of the new plantings is not only does it look nice, clean the air, but it also prevents flooding. Trees do more work absorbing rainfall than grass does. Grass has short roots, but trees go on and on. Clean Air, Clean Water and Beautiful!
Thank u karen. While not talking for any organization but as a 35 year resident- we had to find a wayto stop the “active use”. This has stopped it, at least, by 70%
Holy Cow! I grew up on Mosholu Pkwy and we played football on that green throught the 70’s. I remember the when the original trees were planted.
There are not enough places for kids to play in that area and people who take them away from the kids deserve to have those same kids hanging out all day on their stoops. Give the kids a break. Mosholu Pkwy was football Heaven to the boys of Hull Ave.
Trees are nice but the way they are positioned is not very appealing. I thought the placement of many of them was quite haphazard. Was so much prettier before.
There is one soccer field at Oval Park that usually has three or four soccer games going on any weekday evening, involving eighty or so people; no wonder Mosholu has “active use”. There is a small minority who want to keep Mosholu pristine, and a big majority, not politically savvy, who want to use the space. The minority, again, win the day, but please let’s stop reversing the reality–the anti-social, self-serving, socially irresponsible group is the small group of politically connected people who just evicted forty soccer players and fifty barbecuers from Mosholu Parkway because you thought it didn’t look pretty.