Manhattan’s Community Board 6 has launched a dramatic initiative to enable the people of New York City to recapture control of their parks and reassert their community rights.

Angered by the sacking of a large portion of Van Cortlandt Park for the filtration plant and by the obliteration of Macomb’s Dam Park for the new Yankee Stadium; enraged by the boldness of self-serving financiers and unscrupulous  politicians touting their whims as “visions;” and infuriated by the contemptuous treatment of their fellow citizens, CB6 has proposed “alienation” legislation to make it impossible to take away parks without the knowledge and consent of the affected community.

Their resolution proposes that the affected community board must be given a 60-day review period before the City Council can consider suspending “home rule.”  (Before a park can be taken away from the community – an action needing state approval – the City Council must suspend “home rule.”  With the new stadium project, the City Council did this without even informing Bronx Community Board 4!)  Secondly, the resolution mandates that if a park is taken away, it must be replaced by a park with “the same general configuration and function” as the original and be geographically close to the original. In the stadium project, Macomb’s Dam Park will be replaced by several small parcels scattered around the southwest Bronx and none large enough to replace the defining features of the old Macomb’s Dam Park.

 CB6, which held its public hearing on Nov. 6, is appealing to community boards all over the city to hold public hearings on this issue and to either adopt their resolution or to draft one of their own. If many boards in the five boroughs do this, city politicians will take notice and sponsor a bill in the City Council. Strict legislation on the books is the only way to prevent developers and politicians from ever stealing or wrecking New York City parks again and the only way to vindicate the wrong done to the people who lost their parkland!

While portions of parks have been seized throughout the city, no borough has witnessed such a large-scale destruction as the Bronx.  Bronx elected officials have made dramatic promises as to the benefits of economic development which are highly unlikely to materialize. Instead, the projects have taken away the only natural place of recreation for many, wrecked the tranquility of both affected communities and caused considerable suffering. Bronx community boards must pick up the torch lit by their Manhattan counterpart and follow through with alienation legislation. The people of the Bronx deserve nothing less.

John Rozankowski

Bedford Park