PUBLISHED BY MOSHOLU PRESERVATION CORPORATION

No Money for Oval in Capital Budget

By HEATHER HADDON

Over the last couple of months, while a media frenzy focused on the part of the city's budget affecting services - known as the expense budget -- the City Council quietly made decisions on billions of dollars of capital projects for 2004. While some area projects were funded, a major item on the wish list for many area residents - renovating Williamsbridge Oval Park in Norwood - was not.

"I'm disappointed," said Margaret Groarke, a member of the Mosholu Woodlawn South Community Coalition. "There's a lot of work to be done in the Oval." (Disclosure: Groarke is married to Norwood News editor Jordan Moss.)

Final decisions on capital funds - monies for construction and renovation projects -- were made in late June. At press time, Councilman Joel Rivera, who represents North Fordham, had secured over $500,000 for Poe Park. But nothing had materialized for the Oval.

Councilman Oliver Koppell, whose district includes the Oval, has said on many 
occasions that the Oval is his budget priority. "We don't get everything we ask for," Koppell said. "But I am frustrated that I have not been able to get an allocation for the Oval."

Koppell requested $2 million in funding for the Oval. He would have liked to see the money used to renovate the center track and to install artificial turf on the field which has been plagued by erosion due to its heavy use. (Some local park advocates think the money would be more wisely spent on repairing the park's crumbling perimeter wall and other infrastructure.)

"The problem was it's a big item," said Koppell about the project's price tag.

Koppell told the Norwood News last May that the Oval was his top park commitment. But while the councilman managed to roughly double District 11's share of capital funds over the last year, the Oval was not on the list. 

Groarke has an idea why. "I think the Parks Department believes it's going to get a huge windfall from the filtration plant," she said. If the governor goes ahead and signs a bill the legislature passed to pave the way for the controversial water filtration plant in Van Cortlandt Park, the city has promised $243 million for Bronx park projects. 

Koppell agrees with Groarke's logic. "The Parks items are being deferred because they [the city] expect to get the money from the filtration plant," he said. "I'm not happy about it."

But if the Council is banking on the windfall to fund Bronx parks projects, they're 
making a big mistake, Groarke believes. "People thought the decision [on the plant] would be made 10 years ago, but it hasn't been built, and so waiting on that money to fund parks isn't wise," she said. Pataki still hasn't signed the bill, and park advocates are likely to sue if he does. 

Beyond the plant, the Parks Department is in a weak position when it comes to capital funds. "Parks is more at the mercy of City Council people," Groarke said. "Other agencies have a capital budget of their own that they can make more individual decisions on."

In general, the capital budget is far less structured than the expense budget. "The capital budget deserves more scrutiny than it gets," said Douglas Offerman of the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan organization that monitors city and state finances. "It's the budget that most involves the politics of horse-trading."

Once the expense budget is decided on, the City Council must divvy up a set pot of money between competing district projects. 

The 2004 capital budget commitment is $6.2 billion, down from $8.6 billion in 2003, according to Offerman.

While the city capital funds allotted to borough presidents is based on the population and geographic area of their boroughs, there is no set process for Council members, according to Doug Turetsky of the Independent Budget Office, a public agency that monitors the city's financial decisions.

But certainly, those with more power do better. Councilman Joel Rivera, who is also the Council's majority leader, has consistently delivered funding for parks, said Pat Logan of the Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation. "The majority leader has been very supportive of parks over the years," said Logan, who has worked extensively on the redevelopment of Poe Park. "I think his influence as majority leader certainly helps."

His position appears to have paid off again this year, with at least $500,000 secured by Rivera for Poe Park. The monies will be directed towards Phase II of the park's renovations, featuring a digital information center about the park and its history. The project, estimated to cost $1.55 million dollars, will still need roughly $500,000 to be fully funded.

Koppell did net monies for upgrading libraries in district high schools, including DeWitt Clinton and Walton. Funding for computer equipment was also secured for PS/MS 20, PS/MS 95, MS 80, Jonas Bronck Academy and the Bronx Dance Academy.

One caveat to the whole process is that even if funding for projects are announced, there is no guarantee they will move forward this budgetary cycle - if ever. Monies allocated by former Councilwoman June Eisland for the Oval in 2001, to give the park's northern entrance a facelift, have never materialized.

"[The Council] leaves wiggle room because unforeseen things happen, especially when planning a big project," Offerman said. "This is legitimate, but it obscures whether the project is real or not."