The Year in Review It was an eventful year in many local arenas, from education and economic development, to the filtration plant and housing. What follows are summaries and updates of some of the most important issues in our area in 2003. Filtration Plans Move Forward
A decade of rallies, meetings, hearings, presentations and behind-the-scenes political machinations have led to the current situation, where the city appears to be on the verge of being able to build the plant at Mosholu Golf Course, a section of Van Cortlandt Park nestled next to a busy residential community. In March, the city revived plans shot down by the state's highest court to build the plant in the park. In 2001, the Court of Appeals told the city it couldn't build in public parkland unless it got the approval of the state legislature. But seeking the court's approval at that time was a dead end, as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver promised to defer to the wishes of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, the lawmaker whose district the park is in. But two years later, Chris Ward, the city's Department of Environmental Protection commissioner, crafted a deal with the borough's Democratic Assembly delegation. Give us permission to build the plant in Van Cortlandt Park and we'll invest $243 million in Bronx park improvements, was the deal Ward presented at Democratic Party headquarters in Westchester Square. All the lawmakers, except Dinowitz, went for it. And in an unusually close vote (bills aren't usually brought to the floor by legislative leaders unless they are assured of victory) the legislation to "alienate" Van Cortlandt Park for the plant was passed around 3 a.m. on the last day of the legislative session in mid-June. Governor Pataki signed the bill into law on July 22. The city promised to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the site, however, that will evaluate two sites -- one at the Harlem River and another in Westchester -- in addition to the golf course. But responding to a question from the Norwood News in an interview with community newspapers in August, Mayor Bloomberg seemed to confirm activists' fears that the EIS was only window dressing when he said, "The EIS is not gonna stop this." Meanwhile, lawyers for opponents of the plant are waiting to see what the city does regarding the zoning of the site before they announce their legal strategy. And community residents, many of them new to the fight, have been meeting to plot strategy. The city will release the draft EIS in January. - JORDAN MOSS Armory Roof Fixed. Now What?
The city's Economic Development Corporation (EDC), which will oversee the armory's redevelopment, announced that it would make a decision on a developer for the project by mid-summer 2003. EDC appeared to be heading down the same road as former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who had selected RD Management, a shopping mall developer, for the project. RD's designs focused primarily on recreational and commercial space. This would have been a blow to the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition and other advocates of including schools in the redevelopment mix. Sharing the vision that the armory could accommodate both community and commercial space, the Richman Group, a national real estate developer, partnered with the Coalition. At the heart of their plan are at least 2,000 school seats. To accommodate concerns about proper ventilation and safety, the Richman Group moved the seats, some of which had been in the drill floor area in previous designs, to the perimeter of the armory. But the EDC did not announce a developer over the summer and instead, in September, announced it would issue an RFP (Request for Proposals), allowing developers to bid on the project. Bronx officials met with EDC and Education Department staff shortly after the announcement to discuss what priorities would be delineated in the RFP. During the two-hour meeting, which was closed to the public, a consensus reportedly emerged that the inclusion of school space was a critical part of the project. In November, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion convened a first-ever public hearing on the armory. The meeting would have been the first time that any concerned resident could share their ideas directly with EDC and perhaps have an impact on the priorities set forth in the RFP. But no one from EDC showed up, infuriating Carrion. An EDC spokesperson said the mayor had been informed that certain Bronx elected officials could not attend and wanted to reschedule the hearing for when they could. And, in fact, Council Member Maria Baez and Assemblyman Jose Rivera, both of whose districts include the armory, did not attend, nor did Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera, whose district abuts Baez'. Asked why he did not attend the hearing, Jose Rivera told the Norwood News he had only been told about it a day earlier. In November, the EDC spokesperson told the Norwood News that another public meeting will be scheduled. But calls to EDC for an update were not returned by press time. While 2004 could be the year of the armory, the Bloomberg administration's commitment to the project is uncertain. In a speech at a Crain's breakfast forum in November, the mayor left the armory off his economic development wish list. - HEATHER HADDON
News | Opinion | Schools
| Features | Continuing Stories | Home |
Though it may seem more likely than ever, from the events of 2003, that
the city will finally get to build a water filtration plant in the northwest
Bronx for the Croton water system, this saga is by no means over. The Norwood
News first began reporting about city plans to build a filtration plant
at the Jerome Park Reservoir around 1993. There have been several similar
junctures in the past.
After a $30 million renovation, the mammoth roof over the Kingsbridge
Armory's drill floor was completed in 2003. But the city has yet to
determine what will go under it or in the rest of the landmarked
575,000-square-foot facility, which was vacated by the National Guard in
1994.