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Fill in the Harlem River? No Way, Say Local Leaders

April 2, 2009

If Charles J. Urstadt has his way, Manhattan will no longer be an island.

In a New York Times op-ed on March 13, the former chairman of the Battery Park City Authority wrote that the city’s economy can be revived by reclaiming and developing new land. Fifth on his list of suggestions was the draining and filling in of the Harlem River.

The eight-mile river, which divides Manhattan and the Bronx, should be turned into 3,000 acres of land, argued Urstadt, to provide space for parks, schools, businesses, and housing.

Community leaders haven’t exactly embraced his plan.

Ludger Balan, executive director of the Harlem River Ecology Center, feels it would be “invasive and destructive.” He said the river is one of New York Harbor’s most scenic bodies of water and contains a unique ecosystem with its own tidal pattern. He calls the river’s many bridges “spectacular architectural wonders,” raising the question of what would happen to them should the river disappear.

State Senator Jose M. Serrano, who represents much of the west Bronx, also rejects Urstadt’s idea. In a statement, he said that “more pavement, more concrete and less water” would worsen the asthma epidemic in his district.

Thomas Curry, the executive director of the New York Rowers Association, said the Harlem River has a long rowing history dating back to the 1860s and is the only river in the city suitable for the sport, practiced by students in all boroughs and at the university level.

Curry believes filling in the Harlem River and other bodies of water would be a sign of gluttony not growth.  He offered his two cents on the proposal: “Crazy. Insane.”

By REBECCA CHAO

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