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A Look at Where Local Park Rehabs Stand
Money from Filter Plant Deal Fuels Open Space Makeovers

By KATHRYN MOLINARO and JORDAN MOSS

As the weather warms up and the end of the school year is in sight, kids, dog walkers, joggers and baby strollers are beginning to stream into local parks and playgrounds. As they do, many park users will find their favorite green spaces either markedly improved or looking like a construction site, and maybe a little bit of both. That’s because $200 million in park improvement monies, allocated as a result of a controversial political deal to build a giant water filtration plant in the Norwood section of Van Cortlandt Park, has begun transforming local parks.

Here’s a rundown on where these local park improvement projects stand, according to the Parks Department.

Van Cortlandt Park

Work is complete on the golf-course-themed Sachkerah Woods Playground in Van Cortlandt Park at the corner of West Gun Hill Road and Jerome Avenue – the project closest to the filtration plant site. The project includes a comfort station, a new playground and picnic area, and a bench-lined path connecting the playground to the street. A final inspection to check on the finishing touches – known as a “punch list” – was scheduled to take place last week and a ribbon cutting ceremony will soon be scheduled by the borough commissioner.

Devoe Park

Residents of University Heights will have to wait a little longer for the end of the construction at Devoe Park. Parks Department spokeswoman Jesslyn Tiao said work is 41 percent complete and should be finished sometime this summer. When the work is finished, there will be new paths and landscaping throughout the park. The playground at the east end of the park, at Fordham Road and University Avenue, will be reconstructed and a new playground will be built at the west end of the park. The play areas will be equipped with swings, a spray shower, slides and play equipment for toddlers and older children.

Though a November Norwood News article indicated that renovations to the comfort station at Devoe would begin this summer, the current word form the Parks Department is that the “Devoe comfort work station work schedule is still being developed.”

Aqueduct Walk

A consultant has been selected for the design process, which will continue through the fall. The project includes new promenade pavement, new playgrounds, and new passive spaces on Aqueduct Walk from Kingsbridge Road all the way down to Morton Place. Construction will begin in fall 2008 and last about a year.

Williamsbridge Oval

Williamsbridge Oval can also look forward to a face-lift, but not until fall 2009, the projected completion date. In the design phase until the end of July, plans for the Oval include a new turf soccer field and a 400-meter rubberized track with lane striping. The Oval will also receive new basketball courts with full and half courts, bench seating and bleachers. There will be a playground with features for children of all ages, with a spray shower as the centerpiece. The plan also includes renovations for the recreation building, in design until the end of August, including making the lower level handicapped accessible. All construction is set to begin in spring 2008.

St. James Park

After many delays and defaulting contractors, the rehab of the comfort station at St. James was completed earlier this week, according to the Parks Department. Another project not related to the Croton funding, the entrance stairs on Jerome Avenue, is complete. Phase II of the St. James rehab, which included the rehab of two additional park entrance stairways and the repair of the perimeter walls, was completed in November, according to the Parks Department. The design of Phase III — which includes reconstruction of retaining walls and yet more entrance stairs into the park — is complete and the job will be advertised for bids on May 16.

The design of Phase IV is also complete and scheduled to be put out to bid later this month. It consists of new landscaping paths and fencing.

Harris Park Ball Fields

The design of the six ballfields at Harris Park, sandwiched between Lehman College and the Bronx High School of Science, is complete. Two of the fields will have synthetic turf, and the other four will be natural grass. The job will be advertised for bids on May 10.

Poe Park Visitors Center

This is not a Croton-funded project, but local advocates are anxiously awaiting the construction of a new Visitors Center at Poe Park, which has experienced a renaissance in recent years, with a new bandstand, playground and pathways.
The Parks Department says the design of the project, which will engage visitors in the life and work of the park’s namesake, Edgar Allan Poe, is complete and the job is out to bid.

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