by Barbara Torres
Bronx Journal Staff Writer
Originally Published December 2006
Intense: That was the only word to describe the feelings in the room as local residents and members of Community Board 4 met on October 24 to respond to the Parks and Recreation Committee’s proposal for renovating Macomb’s Dam and Mullaly Parks.
After listening to the plans, as laid out by Hector Aponte, the Bronx Parks Commissioner, the New York City Parks Capital Team, and representatives from Bronx Borough President Aldolfo Carrion’s office, many locals felt that they were being bamboozled and ignored. Tension erupted when the parks’ project monitor, Joshua Laird, noted that some “contamination” had been found near the existing Bronx Terminal Market, close to where waterfront parks are being planned. People began shouting at each other and at Laird, trying to get him to answer their questions about what, in fact, the contaminant was.
Laird finally replied that it was, in fact, petroleum, because fuel tanks at the site had somehow leaked into the soil and water. Although he attempted to reassure residents that the petroleum was not hazardous, locals were skeptical.
Area residents expressed concerned about the health of their families. Lissette Rodriguez, 31, who works for a non-profit organization, CASES (Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services), observed that the park developer cared less about the community than about profits. “My son has asthma,” she said, “and with all this construction going on around us and our just now finding out that a land site is contaminated, who cares about how the parks are going to look four years from now?”
Vitriol like this has surrounded the city since the Department of Parks and Recreation recently announced the development of a new Yankee Stadium on portions of Macomb’s Dam and John Mullaly Parks at East 161st Street and River Avenue. The proposed capital improvement project, which will cost approximately $160 million, includes the construction of a smaller jogging track and artificial-turf soccer field on top of a four-story parking garage.
The renovation of Macomb’s Dam Park began in mid-August while construction on Mullaly Park will begin next fall. Although Macomb’s Dam Park was known for its jogging track, now residents no longer have access to their park.
“I’m angry and disappointed that they’re not rebuilding another track. I live right across the street from Mullaly Park,” said Jewel Lopez, 54, a home health aid. “There’s so much debris flying around that I don’t even walk my dog in the morning. I wait until the workers stop later on in the day. I just don’t understand why they have to ruin our parks.”
Although Macomb’s Dam Park is fenced off to the public, residents can still enjoy Mullaly for another year. It has been a safe haven for Bronx families and children since the City of New York acquired land for a park in 1924 and developed it as a multi-use recreational facility. Its first playground was built in 1932. In the late 1960s swimming pools, a bathhouse, ice rink, tennis courts, softball fields, and a skate park were added.
The Mullaly Skate Park has since then offered skateboarders, rollerbladers, rollerskaters and bike riders the opportunity to perfect their skills. The bike ramps have been the most popular feature here, especially for BMX, or extreme, bike riders. Where these adventurers go during the park’s facelift seems to be an open question right now.
Commissioner Aponte said that a total of $9.5 million will be spent to renovate the park. In Mullaly Park North, the center pathway will feature two fenced areas of flowering trees and ornamental shrubs. The soccer field will have artificial turf, a mist system to cool down youthful players, and two new softball fields with fencing high enough to keep the balls from flying into River Avenue.
Also, in Mullaly Park South the playground equipment will be better organized and more trees will be planted. The commissioner said that 400 mature trees were cut down, but the city is expected to plant 8,000 smaller ones by next spring as replacements. These will be planted both in the parks and the surrounding neighborhood.
In addition, the skate park building will be renovated to feature more efficient lighting and public rest rooms. Construction is scheduled to be completed just before the 2009 spring baseball season begins.
“I think it’s a great idea that the city is finally renovating the Yankee Stadium area,” said Daniel Bueno, 32, who recently moved into the neighborhood. “The new project will not only benefit Yankee fans, but it will also bring in lots more jobs and new recreation facilities.”
“I have always stressed that the redevelopment plan had to include the needs of the community, specifically the long-overdue restoration of parks, a new Metro-North Station and a revitalized commercial district that will provide our residents with jobs and economic opportunities,” Borough President Carrión said recently. “We have succeeded in crafting a historic plan that addresses these needs. This is not just about building a stadium; it is about building a stronger Bronx and a stronger city.”
In all, approximately 22 acres of parks land will be used for the construction of the new Yankee Stadium and parking garages. But neighborhood children will be left without a park for at least three years until the project is completed.
One Highbridge resident, Lumildy Gonzalez, 19, is concerned. She remembers playing in the playground with her friends after school. “I’ve been living in this neighborhood all my life. The thought of Mullaly Park not being here is sad,” she said recently. “I still go there. I take my 3-year-old son to the park, and he loves it. I don’t know where we’ll go until the construction is over.”
Locals worry that with the new Yankee Stadium project under way, they will face obstacles. It is just a matter of how well they will adapt during the three years of construction and – as they see it – inconvenience.
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