Money Pours Into Bronx River Adding a bold flourish to a renaissance well under way, a new infusion of city and federal money will soon be flowing into the Bronx River, thanks to Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Congressman Jose Serrano. In his State of the City address, Giuliani announced $11 million in new funding for the river. Bronx Parks Commissioner Bill Castro said that a decision will be made soon about which specific projects along the river the money will be used for. "We have projects identified to improve the condition of the river but also to increase access to the river, particularly in the southern portion where they have somewhat less access to the river than the northern and central part of the Bronx," Castro said. And at a Community Empowerment Celebration Serrano hosted at the Bronx Zoo on Jan. 17, he announced over $11 million he secured for the river in the federal budget, including $8.5 million for the "acquisition of critical properties needed to complete the Bronx River Greenway," a network of paths and trails that will run the entire length of the river. Serrano has created the Serrano Waterfront Committee to coordinate the acquisition of the properties through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Another $1.5 million appropriated by Serrano and Congress will be used for a variety of projects including $500,000 towards the construction of the River House at Starlight Park and $939,000 for completion of the Soundview Greenway. Some of the city's money could be used for matching funds required for projects that will benefit the sections of the river closest to Norwood and Bedford Park, including $850,000 from the New York State Environmental Bond Act for the restoration of the Bronx River Forest Floodplain immediately north of the New York Botanical Garden and $250,000 in federal transportation funds for the reconstruction of eroded pathways in Bronx Park between Kazimiroff Boulevard and East 233rd Street. Nancy Wallace, the executive director of Bronx River Restoration, was elated by the new funding. "This is a fulfillment of a dream," Wallace said. "It fits with the master plan for the river that we did back in 1980."Wallace added that, because of the participation of volunteers and nonprofit groups all along the river, all the new money "is going to propel the plans for the river forward in a wonderful way. There's a lot of community support."
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