2004 ended like no other in the decade-long battle over the Croton water filtration plant, with work beginning in Van Cortlandt Park, the site the city has preferred for the project for at least five years.

The Bronx’ Meals on Wheels program underwent a huge shakeup this year that altered the service for homebound seniors which had operated, basically untouched, since the 1970s. The process of implementing the controversial pilot pitted Bronx Democratic regulars and the city against advocates and other officials in a nasty fight over a program many would consider politically untouchable.

District 10’s new Community District Education Council led one of its first public meetings last fall from a long table on PS 85’s auditorium floor. The move down from the stage where their predecessors, the more insular community school boards, reigned, was a symbolic gesture to bring themselves closer to parents.

It was anniversary season this year, with several venerable organizations and institutions marking their tenure. The youngsters of the bunch, BronxTalk PrimeTime and Bronx Talk AM, celebrated their 10th and fifth years, respectively, of bringing news and views to borough residents. As of last October, the cable programs, which air on BRONXNET channel 67, had logged over 1,100 segments of live discussion with officials and leaders, airing residents’ phone calls, and delivering valuable community information.

Three major Bronx institutions were all smiles last May when Montefiore Medical Center announced that it had brokered a deal in the decade-long tiff between the New York Botanical Garden and Fordham University. Montefiore offered the roof of its Montefiore II residential high-rise, located at 3450 Wayne Ave. at Gun Hill Road, to host a 142-foot tower for Fordham’s public radio station, WFUV.

It was an exciting year for the followers of Bronx politics with two heated local races, a rash of political scandals, and some unexpected new alliances.

In two community victories on and around Reservoir Oval in 2004, there is a disturbing lesson to be learned: It takes a very long time to get small things done.

The work on the Croton filtration plant has begun. The city has started clearing trees at the site, building access roads, etc. Visitors will no longer recognize the vast area they once knew as the Mosholu Golf Course and Driving Range.

Students and teachers were evacuated from MS 80 Monday following an oil spill in the basement.