| The BPC advised that the parkway be developed immediately. Otherwise, the lower stretches of the Bronx River would be completely ruined from continued pollution and environmental degradation. Preserving the Bronx River was of utmost importance to New Yorkers, since it was the "dominant feature" of Bronx Park, with its popular zoo and botanical gardens. "The loss of it," the BPC claimed, "would be a public calamity." The commission emphasized that the opportunity might be "lost forever" if authorities failed to take action. New York City and its suburbs were developing rapidly and the river valley was threatened by Westchester County’s encroaching development. The commission predicted that increasing property values would make a reservation impractical if land were not purchased in the near future. The commission’s main concern at this point was reclaiming the river; building a parkway drive was of secondary importance. Later, commissioners described the BPC’s goal as "saving the River and incidentally creating a Parkway."(26) The BPC estimated that land for the Bronx River reservation would cost $1.65 million. The proposed reservation would extend for approximately 15 miles from Kensico Reservoir to Bronx Park and range from 300' - 1,000' wide. The BPC envisioned acquiring 900 acres in Westchester County and approximately 125 acres in New York City. Commissioners believed the reservation was "logically" and "physically" defined in its location near the New York Central Railway’s Harlem Railroad, which followed the level grade of the river valley. The proposed Bronx Boulevard would serve as a boundary from Bronx Park to Woodlawn. North of Woodlawn, the New York aqueduct right-of-way would form an almost continuous boundary to Scarsdale. Elsewhere, boundaries were marked by the railroad line, existing streets, or natural demarcation lines that followed the upper edges of the slopes along the river.(27) The BPC observed that it would be difficult to apportion the costs of the proposed parkway reservation between Westchester County, where most of the proposed land acquisition would take place, and New York City, which would wind up with a smaller amount of park land but would still benefit greatly from the project. The BPC maintained that New York City residents would be the primary park visitors, since suburban Westchester residents would not have the urgent need for park amenities that New Yorkers had. The river reclamation would also be a greater boon to city residents, since the pollution settled downstream and threatened Bronx Park. The commission pointed out that land acquisition for the project would be more expensive in New York City. The BPC concluded that a fair division of expenses would be for New York City to pay two-thirds of the reservation costs, with Westchester County paying the remaining third. The BPC recommended that a permanent commission of three members be designated to develop and oversee the park project. It also advised that the new commission be paid so that members could devote the necessary time for park development. The BPC suggested that a combination of bonds and tax revenue could pay for the parkway.(28) According to the BPC, its recommendations met with "general public approval" and were endorsed by the New York City mayor and the Westchester County Board of Supervisors. As a result, the New York legislature enacted a parkway law in 1907 that provided for preserving the water of the Bronx River from pollution; creating a reservation of the lands on either side of the river; authorizing the taking of lands for that purpose and providing for the payment thereof, and appointing a commission to carry out the purposes of the act. The legislation approved the map submitted with the BPC’s 1907 report and determined that New York City and Westchester County jointly develop the parkway. The costs of the project would be divided between the two local governments, with New York City paying three-fourths of the expenses. Commissioners were to receive $2,500 each for their services and traveling expenses. The law was amended to specify that no expenses or obligations were to be assumed by the commission until the New York City Board of Estimate and Apportionment (NYC-BEA) granted its approval of the parkway project.(29) The amendment allowing the NYC-BEA final approval effectively meant that the Bronx River Parkway Reservation could not be developed without the consent of New York authorities. |
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| (26)Bronx
Parkway Commission, Report, 1907, 17, 20-21; Bronx Parkway Commission,
Report of the Bronx Parkway Commission (New York: Bronx Parkway
Commission, 1914), 28. |
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