It was a great week for the Bronx River.

Nearly 20 supporters of the Bronx River Alliance boarded a trolley on Sept. 22 at the Bronx River Art Center on East Tremont Avenue for a trip to the Burke Avenue Bridge, just north of French Charley’s Playground in Norwood. Participants in the fundraiser enjoyed refreshments and a view of the river as the sun set. The banks and forest surrounding the river were recently restored and boardwalks have been installed.

And downstream the next day, river and park advocates watched a dream come true as local politicians and community leaders joined City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe for a groundbreaking ceremony at Concrete Plant Park to mark the start of the site’s construction into parkland.

The park, seven acres of land that hugs the western bank of the Bronx River in Hunts Point’s industrial section, will be a welcome addition to an area chronically short of green space.

Previously home to a concrete mixing plant, the site has lain derelict since 1997. It was set to be auctioned until local residents — looking past the mountains of garbage and polluted river — convinced the Parks Department to step in. “This started from the ground up,” Benepe said.

When work is finished, the first new stretch of the Bronx River Greenway will be in place. An initiative by the Bronx River Alliance, the Greenway Program aims to establish a continuous 23-mile pathway along the river.
— James Fergusson and David Greene