After receiving Metz’s report and the BPC’s renewed request for $35,000 in 1910, the NYC-BEA referred the matter to a select committee comprised of the city comptroller, William Prendergast, and the president of the Borough of the Bronx, Cyrus C. Miller. Prendergast and Miller, with the assistance of Bronx Borough engineer Amos Schaffer, reviewed the pollution issues and the proposed solutions during the summer of 1910. Their 1911 report unanimously supported the parkway project as the least expensive and most desirable solution for reclaiming the Bronx River. Countering the argument that New York City had little justification for expending funds in neighboring Westchester County, they noted that pollution problems along the lower Bronx River would not stop unless sources beyond the city line were suppressed. The report recommended approval subject to further review of the BPC’s detailed plans and cost estimates.(43) The NYC-BEA finally accepted the special committee’s recommendations, chiefly on its basis as a practical sanitary measure. In July 1911, the NYC-BEA provided the funding to proceed with maps and surveys. The BPC was instructed to prepare a map and survey; it was not to incur any other expenses or obligations.(44) The Westchester County Board of Supervisors, which had pledged to release its share when New York City appropriated funds, kept its promise and released $8,750.(45) Working Without a BudgetDespite having no funding for the parkway, the BPC had moved forward with its work while awaiting approval from the NYC-BEA. For five years the commissioners had worked without compensation and spent their own money on the parkway project. Thayer also donated his services for engineering studies and investigations of property values.(46) The commission established offices at Grant’s Wall Street office in Manhattan and maintained a convenient Westchester County facility in Cannon’s building in Scarsdale.(47) The Scarsdale office was important for its central location within the proposed parkway, providing easy accessibility for Westchester County property owners and a convenient location for Thayer’s engineering headquarters. Most of the commission’s work focused on preparatory activities such exploring property acquisition opportunities and monitoring pollution in and near the parkway reservation. The commission obtained promises of land through donations and favorable options, and made preliminary surveys of the land required for the reservation.(48) When the BPC was appointed in 1907, its first order of business was to maintain an "informal but general supervision" and prevent further degradation to the proposed parkway reservation. The BPC attempted to make its presence known throughout the proposed parkway in order to prevent further destruction of the valley’s natural beauty.(49) Although Cannon wanted to hire an assistant engineer to survey the river’s pollution, his suggestion was moot as the NYC-BEA would not appropriate funds.(50) One of the commission’s most successful and important activities in the early years was ensuring support and cooperation for the BRPR from landowners, especially the Bronx Valley Sewer Commission. The BPC recognized that it had no real authority and had to operate "entirely through moral suasion." The commissioners were concerned that adjacent developments could adversely affect the natural features that the parkway aimed to preserve. As a result, they investigated relevant projects to try to ensure that they were done in a manner that complemented the proposed parkway. Commissioners inspected sewage plants and other sources of pollution. They managed to convince some property owners to stop discharging refuse and chemicals into the river and opposed the construction of new incinerating facilities along the river in White Plains and Tuckahoe. These projects were deferred pending the availability of other locations. Several owners of riverside land were persuaded to remove their livery stables and rebuild them elsewhere. The BPC also worked to convince the sewer commission to postpone land acquisition that the BPC coveted for parkway purposes.(51) When the sewer commission proposed a construction project, Grant explained the importance of doing the work without injuring the natural features of the Bronx River Valley. Grant was so concerned with the proposed sewer project that he sent Thayer to inspect its entire length in order to learn whether it affected parkway plans and determine whether it could be modified to the BPC’s advantage. The sewer commission agreed to postpone condemnation hearings for land acquisition as long as there was a reasonable likelihood that the BPC would proceed with its parkway. The sewer commission also pledged its cooperation and promised to work with its contractor to protect natural features during construction.(52) |
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