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  2. Urban Waters Partnership

Program Updates - Bronx and Harlem River Watersheds

2024

Public programs in support of the proposed Harlem River Greenway

The Bronx and Harlem Rivers UWFP in collaboration with NY-NJ Harbor and Estuary Program, Harlem River Working Group, and NYC Department of Transportation, begins its second series of grants to support community engagement and public access to raise awareness of the Harlem River Greenway.

Advancements towards Tibbetts Brook Daylighting

In 2023 the City officially purchased the CSX railroad property to be used by NYC Parks and NYC DEP to extend the Putnam Greenline and daylight the Tibbetts Brook, and in 2024 the property was officially transferred to the City.

2023

Harlem River EJ Boat Tour

Congressman Espaillat hosts the second year of the annual Harlem River Environmental Justice Boat Tour in collaboration with the Bronx and Harlem Urban Waters Federal Partnership, Harlem River Working Group, Bronx Council for Environmental Quality, and NY-NJ Harbor and Estuary Program.

Partnership Workplan Updated

The Bronx and Harlem Rivers Urban Waters Federal Partnership hosts two full workshops to update the 2023/2024 Workplan and identify future needs for the location.

Starlight Park officially opened

Construction is completed on Starlight Park and the Bronx River Alliance and NYC Parks host a ribbon cutting for the official opening.

Plans to extend the Harlem River Greenway

The New York City Department of Transportation announce their plans to extend the Harlem River Greenway through the Bronx. The Bronx and Harlem Rivers UWFP, in collaboration with NY-NJ Harbor and Estuary Program, Harlem River Working Group, and NYC Department of Transportation, announce the first series of grants to support community engagement and public access programs to raise awareness of the Harlem River Greenway.

2022

Harlem River EJ Boat Tour

Congressman Espaillat hosts the first annual Harlem River Environmental Justice Boat Tour in collaboration with the Bronx and Harlem Urban Waters Federal Partnership.

2021

10th Anniversary Bx/Harlem UWFP

10th Anniversary Celebration – Held on the Highbridge, NYC’s oldest standing bridge, the event included U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat; U.S. Rep. Richie Torres’; Leslie Wright (NYC Regional Director for NYS Parks); Walter Mugdan (EPA Acting Regional Administrator); and Stephen Terracciano (U.S. Geological Survey), among other community groups and federal, state and local government attendees.

Natural and Nature-Based Features project

The Urban Waters Federal Partnership began the Natural and Nature-Based Features project, funded by EPA’s Urban Waters program and in collaboration with Natural Areas Conservancy, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, NYS Department of State, and NY Sea Grant, implements a newly developed statewide shoreline monitoring framework in support of two of our Partnership’s goals: restoring in-water and riparian habitats and conducting research in support of community objectives related to green infrastructure.

2020

Harlem River Watershed & Natural Resources Management Plan

With support from the Bronx & Harlem Rivers UWFP, NYC Parks publishes a Harlem River Watershed & Natural Resources Management Plan for the Bronx that builds off of past community-led planning efforts.

2019

$100M in improvements at Roberto Clemente State Park

NYS Parks unveils nearly $100M in improvements at Roberto Clemente State Park, including a redesigned resilient waterfront and the only recreational dock on the Bronx side of the Harlem River

2017

Stew-Map Launch in New York City

In collaboration with the New York City Mayor's Office and the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Forest Service's New York City Urban Field Station has launched the next phase of the Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (Stew-map). STEW-MAP is a mapping tool and database of environmental stewardship groups – large and small, from formal nonprofits to grassroots groups – across the greater New York City metro area.

Access Stew-Map online here. 

City of Water Day

On July 15, the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality held a family friendly community event on the Harlem River waterfront at Mill Pond Park as part of the tenth annual City of Water Day – a regional celebration sponsored by the Waterfront Alliance to highlight the world-class potential of New York and New Jersey waterfronts. The Bronx River Alliance also held a 5k Canoe Challenge, River House Celebration, and free community paddle on the river, also in conjunction with City of Water Day. 

400 Alewife Herring find a home in the Bronx

On April 20, 2017, Urban Waters partners, including NYC Parks & Bronx River Alliance in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, stocked the Bronx River with 400 alewife herring in effort to restore a native migratory fish run in New York City’s largest freshwater river. A few days prior to the stocking, two alewife were documented using a fish ladder installed in 2015 for the first time, giving them access to 12 acres of freshwater habitat, which had been blocked for centuries. Project partners are excited and hopeful that this marks the beginning of a new, local river herring population in one of the nation’s most urbanized waterways.

Additional information on this from the NYC local news can be found here and from the NYC Parks here. 

2016

A Day in the Life of the Bronx River

2015

Bronx River Greenway awarded $10 million

The Bronx River Alliance is pleased to announce a $10 million award for the Bronx River Greenway: Bridge the Critical South Bronx Gap project funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation's highly competitive Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant program. New York City Parks, in collaboration with the Bronx River Alliance, submitted the successful proposal that will close the Greenway's most critical gap, a three-quarter mile segment in the South Bronx. This award will be matched by funding from Mayor de Blasio, NYSDOT, NFWF/DOI Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Competitive Grant program, and funding allocated by New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.

Visit the Bonx River Greenway sitefor more information.

Urban Waters Partnership

  • About the Urban Waters Partnership
  • 21 Designated Urban Waters Locations
    • Anacostia Watershed (DC/MD)
    • Blue River (Kansas City, MO)
    • Bronx and Harlem River Watersheds (NY)
    • Caño Martín Peña (PR)
    • Grand River / Grand Rapids (MI)
    • Greater Philadelphia Area / Delaware River Watershed (PA, NJ, DE)
    • Green-Duwamish Watershed (Washington)
    • Lake Pontchartrain Area / New Orleans (LA)
    • Los Angeles River Watershed (CA)
    • The Meramec River and Big River (Missouri)
    • Middle Rio Grande / Albuquerque (NM)
    • Mystic River Watershed (MA)
    • Northwest Indiana (IN)
    • Passaic River / Newark (NJ)
    • Patapsco Watershed / Baltimore Region (MD)
    • Proctor Creek Watershed / Atlanta (GA)
    • Rio Reimagined-Rio Salado Project
    • San Antonio River Basin within Bexar County (Texas)
    • South Platte Watershed, Headwaters to Denver Metropolitan Area (CO)
    • Walnut Creek Watershed / Raleigh (NC)
    • Western Lake Erie Basin, near Toledo (OH)
  • Federal Partners
Contact Us About the Urban Waters Partnership
Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on July 19, 2024
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