Hopes for Harlem River Park in the NW Bronx Tied Up in Red Tape

A view of the Harlem River waterfront where Regatta Park is supposed to be created. (Adi Talwar)

Editor's note and update: This story appears in the latest edition of the Norwood News, which hits streets today. The update is that Parks Department spokesperson Jesslyn Moser told me today that the agency is, in fact, going to go ahead with a scoping for Regatta Park. Previously, Moser had said a decision had not been made on whether to hold a scoping. The decision to hold a scoping is news because Councilman Fernando Cabrera had requested a scoping in December, but Parks has not responded. Perhaps our inquiry spurred them into action. Also, just to be clear, the creation of Regatta Park is called for in the city's new comprehensive waterfront plan, but there is no money allocated for the project in the three-year "action" plan.

By Alex Kratz

Regatta Park does not exist. It is an idea. A collective vision — shared by Harlem River enthusiasts, Bronx water access advocates, a community board and a local politician — to see a public, usable green space on the Harlem River waterfront in the northwest Bronx.

Ozzie Brown can see what Regatta Park is now from his Fordham Hill apartment, which looks down at the Harlem River waterfront, just north of the historic University Heights Bridge. “It’s a dump,” he says of the area, which is also known as Fordham Landing.

The creation of Regatta Park is called for in the city’s recently released comprehensive waterfront plan and is a vital cog in advocates’ dream of creating a continuous greenway that would travel along the Harlem and Hudson rivers from Westchester County to the south Bronx.

But the city money once allocated for Regatta Park has all but evaporated, forcing residents like Brown and other park advocates to keep hope and the vision of waterfront access alive.