Highbridge Park

You Can Help Design Parks Of The Future

Parks Department collects public surveys for PlaNYC parks

The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation wants to hear from you. As part of the City’s PlaNYC initiative to invest $400 million to design and build eight underdeveloped regional parks across the City, including Soundview, Dreier-Offerman, McCarren, Fort Washington, Highbridge, Highland, Rockaway Beach, and Ocean Breeze Parks, Parks is surveying the community for input regarding the designs and amenities of each park.

Online public surveys for the High Bridge in the Bronx are available in English and Spanish at www.nyc.gov/parks, and must be submitted by Friday, September 7, 2007. Partnerships for Parks, a joint program of Parks and the City Parks Foundation, is also partnering with neighborhood groups to collect park surveys to ensure broad community input.

The High Bridge was completed in 1848 as part of the Old Croton Aqueduct, which first brought fresh water to New York City from Westchester County and fueled the city’s northern expansion. One of the city’s oldest standing bridges, High Bridge spans the Harlem River, connects Manhattan and the Bronx, and has been closed for over 30 years.

The $60 million of PlaNYC funding that Mayor Bloomberg has allocated to the High Bridge, along with an additional $5 million from Congressman José E. Serrano, will allow the Parks Department to rehabilitate and reopen the bridge. The High Bridge will serve as an essential link in New York City’s expanding waterfront Greenway with new pedestrian and bicycle access to Highbridge Park, Pool and Recreation Center for Bronx and Manhattan residents. The rehabilitation will follow historic preservation principles to restore the architectural details of this landmarked structure for public enjoyment.

On Earth Day 2007, Mayor Bloomberg unveiled PlaNYC, a sweeping roadmap to the sustainable growth of New York City by the year 2030. Besides the development of these eight regional parks, PlaNYC calls for the City to plant one million trees, green 800 traffic triangles, and open playgrounds and ballfields around the City. PlaNYC's long-term planning vision for Parks also includes an allocation of $1.2 billion added to what is already the largest capital investment in New York City parks since the 1930s.

Know Before You Go

Highbridge Recreation Center