Major strategies to develop the Harlem River waterfront, from bike lanes to ball fields, were on parade at the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality (BCEQ)’s fourth annual Water Conference. While most projects are slated for communities south of Community District 7, officials also discussed visions for the local area.

Held last week at Manhattan College, the conference brought together officials, advocates and other stakeholders to discuss the conditions in and around Bronx waterways. Brownfield redevelopment was a special focus this year, though problems with releasing promised funds in Albany has stalled projects statewide.

“It’s frustrating,” said Justin Bloom, a lawyer and BCEQ member. Bloom submitted a proposal last year to plan brownfield redevelopments along the Harlem River, but he still hasn’t received a dime because of the state snafu.

In the meantime, there are plenty of other plans percolating for the waterfront. Of local interest is the Parks Department’s push to build the Harlem River Greenway, a public corridor to run 3.5 miles between 225th Street and Macombs Dam Park near Yankee Stadium. The proposal has been in the planning stages since 1993, but parts seem to be progressing.

“It’s been discussed for so long … but we are trying to create an implementation plan,” said Colleen Anderson of the Parks Department’s planning division.

Locally, the Greenway would run from the Old Putnam Trail (a path flowing from Westchester to 225th Street through Van Cortlandt Park), down along the river, connecting to the University Heights Bridge, and traveling past Fordham Landing to points further south. The path would be accessible for pedestrians and bikers, and the Parks Department is considering other uses like boating.

But Community District 7’s section, mixing public and private land, is one of the more difficult portions to advance. The Putnam Trail terminus at 225th Street needs to jog west, where it would drop below street level to run 1.5 miles along the river. But parcels immediately adjacent to the river are owned by private companies, including a recently erected storage facility, and Parks doesn’t think they can acquire the land in the near future.

“We don’t want to condemn property,” Anderson said.

Instead, planners are considering routing the greenway between the Major Deegan Expressway and railways owned by Metro North. That prospect is looking hopeful.

“We have been encouraged by our conversations with Metro North,” Anderson said.

Following this stretch, the Greenway would run directly along the waterfront through a one-acre parcel owned by the Department of Transportation. Converting this property into parkland, estimated to cost $1.8 million, is one of the projects promised by the city in exchange for siting the filtration plant in Van Cortlandt Park.

The route would then pass the University Heights Bridge, with an optional spur traveling over the bridge to Manhattan, and continue on to Fordham Landing — a longtime snag for planners. La Sala Contracting Company purchased the land in 1982 and intended to build apartments on over three acres of waterfront land. In return for rezoning the property as residential, the developers promised to build an esplanade along the Harlem River.

But over two decades later, the land sits untouched. “It’s unbelievable,” said Karen Argenti, a BCEQ member who chaired Community Board 7 when La Sala first negotiated the purchase.

Argenti thinks the project stalled due to a lack of infrastructure in the area and its industrial surroundings, which are removed from shops and other buildings. “Who wants to be the first person to put people where [industry] is?” she asked.

Several Greenway projects south of Community District 7 are further along, including the Depot Place, Roberto Clemente, and Washington Bridge parks. An advisory committee consisting of officials, community board representatives, and the public meets every few months to discuss the Greenway.

The conference also featured presentations on other ambitious waterfront projects such as the new Bronx Terminal Market, the Yankee Stadium redevelopment, and developments associated with the 2012 Olympic Games like the velodrome racing arena. Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión is a big supporter of all three, but focused his presentation on the stadium plan. The design is still in the review stages, though Carrión said he’s received inquiries from those seeking to manage some of its components, like a sports medicine high school and a fitness center.

The conference was well-attended and upbeat, with organizers calling it a success. But Argenti was saddened that many of the future parks projects were funded by the filtration plant mitigation.

“Things don’t happen in the Bronx unless we sell off our land,” said Argenti, who has long opposed the plant.